Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A49797
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Magna Charta ecclesiæ universalis the grand charter issued out and granted by Jesus Christ for the plantation of the Christian faith in all nations ... / by George Lawson ...
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Lawson, George, d. 1678.
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1686
(1686)
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Wing L708; ESTC R37962
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90,290
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226
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this Chapter is to reduce the matter of these Commandments into the form of a more explicit vow that so every one that owns his Baptism may know what by vertue thereof he is more particularly bound to perform 1. I believe in one eternal infinite glorious Lord who hath by his Almighty power created Heaven and Earth and all things therein Redeemed mankind by the precious blood of his Eternal Word made flesh sanctifies his Elect people and by a Covenant of grace is become my God in Christ do renounce the Devil the World and the Flesh and all false Gods and Idols and all Profane Irreligious thoughts I deny my self and wholly resign up my self unto him with all the powers and faculties of my soul and body I take him for my supreme Lord Lawgiver Judge Redeemer by Jesus Christ upon whom alone I depend for Salvation and for whom I am ready to bear the Cross and sacrifice my self at any time when called unto it He alone shall be the object of my great Love Fear Service Reverence Confidence Joy Solace and Delight To him alone I will present my Prayers Praises Thanksgiving Glory Honour as only eternally worthy of it and abhorring all Pride I will with greatest humility adore his glorious Majesty and be nothing in my self that I may be all in my God I tremble to think of Apostasie or denying my Saviour to whom I will be faithful to the end as I expect glory and life everlasting from my God by him 2. I will not make any Image or Likeness of any thing in Heaven and Earth or in the Waters under the Earth for to represent his glorious and eternal excellency and God-head but will abandon all false and base conceits and apprehensions of him and look upon him as represented in his mighty and wonderful works and his holy and most blessed word I will not bow down unto any Image or Likeness for to worship it nor perform any service unto it as though it had any Divine excellency or sanctifying power in it or were any sign of Gods special presence without his institution I renounce all Traditions Ceremonies Customs Inventions Practices of men in Religious Worship that are contrary to Gods Word or imposed and enjoyned as necessary parts of Worship I will serve and worship my God with that kind of worship which he hath instituted in the Gospel which shall be the rule according to which I will pray confess give thanks praise hear the word celebrate the Sacraments and perform all other Religious Service unto him in the name and mediation of Jesus Christ and not of Angels Saints or the blessed Virgin And this shall move me much because the Lord my God is a jealous God and will not endure Superstition in Worship the devices of men which pollute and debase his service tend unto and many times end in Idolatry which he will punish not only in the Fathers who begin it give examples to others but also in the Children unto the third and fourth Generation and will shew mercy to such as worship him with a pure Virgin love according to his institution unto a thousand Generations Both the fear and love of my God and the hope of Reward according to his gracious promises shall work much upon me 3. I will not swear vainly or falsly nor call upon my God to be a witness against my soul in affirming or denying any thing which I do not certainly know to be so as it is affirmed or denyed by me or in promising that which I know I have no power to do or no sincere intention to perform for so I should dishonour his glorious name deceive and disappoint my neighbour lose my interest in my God and bring his curse upon me for he will certainly punish and severely revenge all such iniquity I promise that when I take up the name of my God in swearing praying unto him praising of his name and in performing all other his religious service I will do it with humility reverence deliberation due preparation the sincerity of my heart that so I may be innocent before God just towards men and that my service may be accepted of him and effectually conducing to his glory I will abhor all prophane cursing all blasphemous thoughts and words against his Majesty his word and holy Institution 4. Seeing my God requires a set and determinate time to be set apart for religious worship and his more solemn service I will remember and have a special care to observe that holy rest and apply it to the performance of more holy duties converse with my God and prepare my self for that eternal sabbath and full communion with him which he hath promised and prepared to be enjoyned by his people in the place of eternal glory And seeing he hath granted mesix days for my wordly business and secular imployments I will endeavour in that time so to order and dispatch my business that I may not be distracted in his service upon that day which he hath appropriated to himself and in a peculiar manner made his own And I will have a care not only to rest and sanctifie that time in mine own person but I will command such as are under my power and use all means to cause them both to rest and sanctifie it with me And seeing according to the Gospel the first day of the week is honoured blessed hallowed by the Resurrection of my Saviour and the coming down of the Holy Ghost upon both which depends our eternal Salvation I will weekly observe and sanctifie that day in remembrance of the great benefits of Redemption by Christ and of sanctification by the Holy Ghost and of taking down the partition-wall and the shadows of Moses Law the body and substance whereof is Christ. And by the observation of this time I will renounce all Heathenism Mahometism and Judaism and testifie my self a Christian believing in Christ already come This day I will not neglect or profane by idleness or any works and so profanely mispend it to the dishonour of my God and the hindrance of my Salvation As for works of necessity of charity towards man or beast or such as tend to the sanctification of the day I will take liberty to do them according as my God hath allowed neither will I neglect those solemn times of prayer and thanksgiving appointed by Ecclesiastical and Civil Authority for the publick service of God And I shall account the free and quiet enjoyment of these holy times and the Communion of Saints to be a great blessing 5. Next unto my God I must love my Neighbour made in his image and redeemed with the precious blood of Christ and I must love him as my self These are natural Parents civil Powers and Magistrates in the State Ministers in the Church and all such as God hath set over us for our good These I promise to reverence and honour according to their excellency and dignity I will
and Governour in general for it's object faith as it is an assent to God as the first truth revealing his mind to man or a reliance upon him as promising some thing to men Self-denial and bearing the Cross as they are a total resignation of our selves unto the will of God made known unto us I say all these in this sense are naturally moral But consider these as terminated upon God as Redeemer in Christ either promised or exhibited and as conditions upon which the Salvation of sinful man depends by divine Ordination they are not only naturally but supernaturally moral 9. When the Commandments of God are contracted and reduced to the love of God and our Neighbour we must understand that the love of God or the love we owe to God is not only antecedent and the first in order of nature but also of dignity far higher greater then the love of our Neighbour or which is due unto our Neighbour For we must love God with all our heart soul mind might and so we must love nothing else God is worthy of infinite love and therefore he loves himself infinitely yet he requires not in these words an infinite love from us who are infinite yet we must love him more then any other thing yea far more we must love him with the highest degree of love that possibly we can and should be willing if we could to love him infinitely we may exceed in loving our selves or any other thing in loving God we cannot they that love him most love him far less then he deserves To love God with the whole heart is not only to love God sincerely and truly but to love him so as that his love may take up and fill the whole heart this is to love God as God if the whole heart be wholly taken up with this love then all the powers and faculties of soul and body go along with the heart and are taken up with it Therefore these words all the Soul Mind Strength are added to that of the whole heart to signifie the great measure of this divine love 10. The love of our Neighbour as our selves pre-requireth the love of God for if we do not love God first we can neither love our selves or our Neighbour aright For our love of God must measure and qualifie both the love of our selves and our Neighbours and render it acceptable to God 11. This love of God presupposeth our knowledge of God both as excellent and amiable in himself and as good and loving to us especially in Christ and therefore some acts of faith in Christ must go before this love of God as God and our God Redeemer and Sanctifier And as it presuposeth knowledge and in us Christians faith in Christ already come so it vertually includes all subsequent duties and acts of obedience Sect. 7. Therefore after 1. The general observations premised and 2. This discourse upon the several abridgments of the moral Law I will in the third place manifest that love is the fulfilling of the Law 1. The love of God is against all Atheism Idolatry Apostasie renounceth all confidence in any other thing and will take God alone to be our God who created us preserveth redeemeth sanctifieth us unto everlasting life and will serve him fear him trust in him be loyal and obedient unto him in the highest degree and will give all praise glory honour and power to him as the only supreme Lord. 2. This love will not make any image or likeness of any thing visible or sensible to represent him nor cause any such thing to be made for that end neither will it ascribe any divine power or sanctifying vertue unto any such thing nor make it a sign of Gods special presence nor worship or serve it or serve God by it It will reject all traditions of men and all superstition in Religious Worship and will faithfully observe the institutions of God in Divine Service 3. This love will not swear falsly or vainly to the dishonour of God and Christ our Saviour It will be careful to swear the truth It will not prophane or pollute the name of God in the performance of his service but will worship God and perform all religious duties with humility and reverence so that God in them may be glorified 4. This love will not prophane the times determined and hallowed by God for his more solemn worship and will lay aside at those times not only all sinful but all secular imployments and will apply it in publick and private to the performance of holy and heavenly duties It will observe the first day of the week in acknowledgement of Christs Resurrection and the coming down of the Holy Ghost and by this observation signifie our belief of the abolition of the Law the taking down of the partition wall the uniting of Jew Gentile in one body Christian neither will love so confine it self to one day in seven as not to observe those standing occasional times of humiliation or thanksgiving appointed by Authority both Ecclesiastical and Civil for the publick service and solemn Worship of God 5. If we love God we will love our selves in God and as our selves our Neighbours and that not only our Acquaintance Friends near Relations but Strangers Enemies especially the Children of God and will do as we would be done unto This love will honour obey and submit unto all our Superiors whether in Family or State or Church according to their places and will not dishonour disobey or any ways as such disrespect them 6. This love will not give way to Anger malice envy implacable revenge or any such violent and destructive passion which tends to the endangering of limb or life but it will account the life of our neighbour very precious and will use all means to preserve it and to live in peace concord and safety 7. This love will detest adultery whoredom fornication incest and all uncleanness with all the causes and occasions thereof it will endeavour chastity in body and spirit and use all means to preserve it 8. This love will not by any fraud or force take away or detain the goods of his neighbour out of covetousness or any other iniquity but will be careful to give every one their own and so not only be just but also merciful and liberal when God requires it 9. This love will not bear false witness against his Neighbour though his Enemy nor any way seek to hinder or pervert just judgment but will desire and use their best means to right his Noighbour and to promote justice in all judicial proceeding 10. This love will not covet any thing that is his Neighbours though he want it himself will not envy his prosperity will not rejoyce in the misery of an enemy it will seek the good of every one rejoyce in their happiness look upon every one especially a godly man as his brother This love of God and our neighbour