Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A30278
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Eighteen directions for saving conversion unto God by Daniel Burgess ... thus published for the poor.
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Burgess, Daniel, 1645-1713.
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1691
(1691)
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Wing B5705; ESTC R36045
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21,736
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58
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designs of great and good Effects upon your hearts by them When you are in company consider your Tongue 's need of Government All its words be Meat or Poison to your Hearers and your selves They do still holily make for Edification or subserviently for Recreation or contrarily for Corruption Prov. 24.9 The THOUGHT of foolishness is sin Mat. 12.36 Of every idle WORD that men shall speak they shall give account in the day of Judgment D. 9. Preserve the Prerogative of your King I mean of your Love Your Love of God of Angels of Men That is your Principal Grace your Prince Keep that Prince on horse-back let that ride and reign and rule you in all you do Let not any thing lower move and sway you more in any of your ways Remember still it is Love that is the highest improvement of our Faculties the End of all other Graces the Excellency in all other Graces For this is the Word of God given for this is the Spirit given for this was his Son given that we might Love Never please your selves therefore with any Quality or any external Duty without Love internal Love animating enlivening exalting it Rom. 13.10 Love is the fulfilling of the Law D. 10. Value highly your Time Do so really in more than empty pretence And do so apparently also Apparently unto your own Conscience Family Friends Neighbours Tell all in the Language of Practice you account them as the worst of Thieves who rob you of your Time Say as Mr. Fowler My Time and Strength is God's and he shall have it And as Mr. Calvin Christ shall not find me idle Esteem every small moity of Time as you do of Gold Expend none at all of it but in mowing and whetting your Sythe in very Duty and necessary Recreation Buy a great deal of it I mean part with much vain pleasure secular profit fools favour and kindness and good men's too sometimes to save your Time To save it from doing of evil and from doing of lesser good when you may do greater That is indeed as we are bid Eph. 5.16 To Redeem the Time D. 11. Exercise Christian Temperance in all your Meals Brutes are more temperate in use of food than many men And may I not say that some unregenerate men are more temperate than here and there a well reputed Christian appears This is a shame Excess in Meat and Drink is not the least fruitful sin against Body or Soul To be abstemious and sparing for Health's sake is to be as wise as Brute creatures and some men graceless Abstinence for Conscience sake of love to God and Christ to our own Souls and others of faithfulness unto our Baptismal Engagement this is Christian Temperance Ezek. 16.49 Behold this was the sin of Sodom Pride FULNESS of BREAD and abundance of IDLENESS was in her Sin came in by eating remember then Prov. 23.2 Put a knife to thy throat if thou be a man given to Appetite And Be not desirous of Dainties for they are deceitful meat Rom. 8.13 If ye live after the flesh ye shall die D. 12. Hasten your Recoveries out of your wilful sins For sins of unavoidable Infirmity God threatens not Eternal Plagues or Temporal Judgments on you Sincere and constant Humiliation for them is indeed necessary and natural to Lovers of God and Christ But sins that are not of common and insuperable Infirmity they make fearful breaches of your Peace with God and sore wounds in your Souls They sadly lessen God's Love of Complacence in you and your Love and all graces towards God When you fall into these dare not to lie one minute in them Lament them presently Confess them presently to God and if need be unto man also Repent rent your hearts for them and rent them also from them without delay Cry for the Balm of Christ's Blood to be presently dropt into your wounds and for the clean Water of his Spirit to be presently poured on you Cry mightily for Pardon of them and Assistance against them Every minutes delay may cost you so many days weeks and months dolor and anguish Chosen delays may make so many Spira's of you for ought I know Psal 32.3 While I kept silence i. e. would not confess my sin my bones waxed old i. e. I suffered dearly D. 13. Examine strictly your Relative Duty Often say What Subject am I What Fellow-Subject What Observer of Magistrates and Ministers What Friend am I How do I carry it toward my Enemies For a Christian can be no one's Enemy as far as he is a Christian he cannot What Husband or Wife am I What Parent or Child am I What Master or Servant am I What Superior what Inferior what Equal am I Sincerity or Hypocrisie is for the most part specially seen in these things 2 Pet. 3.11 What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy Conversations and Godlinesses Psal 119.6 Then shall I not be ashamed when I have respect unto all thy Commandments D. 14. Repeat every Evening your double use of the WORD and PRAYER I mean in your Closet and Family Dare not for the gain of a Kingdom to omit it of choice Nor to perform it without greatest Seriousness Willingness Thankfulness Psa 55.17 Evening and Morning and at Noon will I pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my voice D. 15. Repair every days Losses and be chary of every days Gains I mean your extraordinary ones The Womb of some days doth bring you forth huge Hindrances of Duty to God to your selves and to your Families III Persons or Things obstruct your Solemnities When they do so consider and consult and strain hard to make it up the next day Read Pray Meditate c. so much the more Another day brings forth huge Helps A Lecture a Fast or Publick Thanksgiving a Funeral Sermon a meeting with some Servants of God of extraordinary Talents apt to Teach and forward so to do When such a day comes lay up and lock up your Spiritual Gains Rost what you take as Solomon speaks keep feed on it enjoy it Eph. 5. v. 16. Redeeming the time because the days are evil John second Epistle verse 8. Look to your selves that we lose not those things that we have wrought but may receive a full reward D. 16. Improve both of the holy Sacraments Most lamentably these are neglected among us The God of all Grace that hath condescended to extremity in the ordaining of them awaken Ministers and People to better use of them On God's part they are Signs and Seals on our part they are Bonds and Badges Baptism and the Lords Supper are the utmost confirmations God giveth us of his Promise to be our God and the utmost we give of our Engagement to be his Forget not this nor vainly remember it Plead with God for your Souls his Signed Sealed Promises unto you to the expulsion of Distrust And plead with your Souls for God your Sacramental Bonds given unto