Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	law_n	moral_a	positive_a	1,101	5	10.3047	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30272	Characters of a godly man both as more and less grown in grace / by Daniel Burgess.	Burgess, Daniel, 1645-1713.	1691 (1691)	Wing B5697; ESTC R23829	60,242	145

Pride as if we were more than Angels or else to be torn with Discontent as if we thought God's Servants were no better than Gally-slaves To conclude thus saith the gracious Man I believe in God the Father and in the Son and I believe in the Holy Ghost also The Father worketh hitherto and the Son works and blessed equally be his Name the Holy Spirit worketh By his ASSISTANCE through Christ's MEDIATION is my access unto GOD. Mark 4. The Covenant of Grace is Spiritually entred Sacramentally confirmed and Practically observed by him He knows no Religion but what is Federal and by Covenant He is one fast-bound to all three Persons of the Godhead undividedly and unto each of them distinctly And this by the BOND OF THE COVENANT as Ezek. 20.37 Even the COVENANT OF GOD'S PEACE as Isai 54.10 He hath learned the first Covenant of Works He hath been Convinced of his breach of it in his first Parents and in his own Person And of his becoming thereby first a Runnagate from God and then an Exile or Banished Creature and one remedilesly miserable without a NEW and BETTER Covenant He hath been wounded by this his said breach of the first Covenant and that unto Death it self The death of all his Comforts in any thing under the Sun and of all his Hopes of welfare in the next World He hath cried in the anguish of his Soul O that I had never been born Nor ever could he change his Mind or desist from that cry or come to any life of Peace and Hope till he had got knowledge of this Covenant of Grace By the balm hereof his Wounds that stank and were corrupt were healed He Revived when he heard that God being by Christ appeased had made and offered a NEW Covenant A new Bond to bind again unto himself those that had run from him To bind himself to bless and save the Penitent and that as strongly and more than ever he bound himself in the first Covenant to bless and save the Innocent He cannot forget the sweet feelings that he had in his heart when he first heard what this Covenant was What it 's Promises and what it's Demands Indeed at first he exclaimed in his haste Away away this is too good to be true Indeed if Light and Darkness and Fire and Stubble were possible to be made Friends this were a way to make them so If GOD and a SINNER were possible to be united and reconciled this New Covenant is one that would unite them But how CAN this be Nevertheless being by and by brought to himself and not daring to give the Lye to Him that CANNOT Lye he ceased to Doubt and began to Wonder and Bless Uttering words to this purpose HEAVEN HEAVEN HEAVEN here 's HEAVEN on Earth Here is a BEATIFICK VISION Why here shine all the astonishing Excellencies and attracting Beauties of God of the whole Trinity I never saw before some of them I never before knew the ten thousandth part of the rest of them Is this the COVENANT OF GRACE 'T is of GRACE indeed and of GLORY too I think O that I had known it sooner That I had asked after it as soon as I could speak That I had given my Parents Ministers and God himself no rest till I had been made to know this Covenant of Grace This HEAVEN HEAVEN HEAVEN upon Earth Briefly he hath admired the exquisite suitableness of both the Privileges and Duties of the Covenant of Grace Their suitableness to the state wherein he lay That was a state of Sin and Misery He did therein nothing but dishonour God and destroy himself Now comes this Covenant of Grace and as to his Sin preacheth Repentance and return to Duty as to his Misery preacheth Remission and return into God's Favour It gives as well as requires Repentance and freely for the sake of Christ not for any Merit in Repentance giveth Remission The Promised Privileges of the Covenant of Grace are such as our Nature craves for and all it can desire To wit PARDON and SALVATION comprehending all Blessings In these God respected our Want The demanded Duties which also are promised in the use of means are such things as our Corrupt Nature doth loath and turn from To wit ENTRANCE and PERSEVERANCE in the Obedience of the Gospel comprehending all Duties In these God respected his own Honour And of equal Wisdom and Grace by the former which are craved by our Nature he allureth us to these latter which are averted from by our Corruption This the gracious Man hath observed much and blessed and magnified God in the observation of it By the former his Spirit Soul and Body have been strongly and sweetly drawn into the latter He hath a true heart that is a heart resolved upon all the Duties of the Covenant and that because he hath also full assurance of Faith that is a heart trusting in God for all the Promised Blessings of the Covenant Thus is he a Spiritual Covenanter with God His Heart and Spirit taking truly the Blessings of the Gospel for his Happiness and as truly taking the Duties of the Gospel for his Work and Business Be it added the Man whom we describe is one that neither Thinks nor makes Light of any Ordinance of his God He knows that God's Positive Laws do bind the Conscience as well as his Moral ones And he remembers that the effects of the first Sin though it were a breach of a Positive Law were tremendous He considers that under the New Testament the Number is but Two the Observation not difficult and if Piously observed exceedingly Beneficial And he infers that the disuse or abuse of Baptism or the Lord's Supper must therefore greatly incense God and injure a Soul He rests not in the foresaid spiritual Covenanting with God though good necessary and of greatest necessity The bare word of the Covenant of Grace as it is in the Scripture he highly prizeth but the signified sealed and engaged word thereof as it is in the Holy Sacraments he most religiously useth and justly prefers He Useth it because he is Commanded and he Preferreth it because in it's use he hath the word of the Covenant with extraordinary Advantages Among Men any Covenant made is first expressed by Words then by Writings then by Hands and Seals mutually added and this last is the highest strongest and utmost Confirmation that Men can give to each other The Covenant between God and Us made is first expressed by his Spirit unto us and by our Spirits unto him in spiritual Language Nextly by Words or Confession with our Mouth we alledging God's part of the Covenant and professing our own restipulation Lastly By Sacraments which are Rites in their outward appearance contemptible but ordained by God for both Signifying Sealing and Engaging Ordained to be Signs and Seals on God's part and to be Bonds and Badges on our part of the Covenant And in this last way is the most noble and

come to the Lord's Supper desiring God to seal unto him the Promise which he layeth hold on and to promote his cravings for Christ as a fountain of both Pardoning and Purifying grace They that rashly deny this do audaciously and most barbarously exclude from the Lord's Table all Christians under desertion and doubting all bruised reeds which it may be are the sittest as well as neediest of any Souls for the holy Banquet I will be the shorter in the remaining Duties because in a manner all are comprehended in this first A second Duty which the Holy Ghost doth often make a means of working Assurance in Believers is Self-Examination Not all that Men will call by the name hereof but that which really is so that which is strictly managed and is as constantly issued That wherein a man sets God before him and having beseeched his gracious Conduct and Counsel falleth to compare what he Hath done and Doth do with what the Gospel Requireth and he Ought to do Examineth his Actions and especially the sincerity of the same q. d. Have I Repented or do I and is my Repentance sincere Have I Believed on Jesus Christ or do I so and is my Faith sound and unfeigned Have I begun or am I beginning a life of Repentance Faith and New Obedience and is it in truth and integrity that I do so Speak out Conscience for judge thou must and conclude one way or other And I will not sleep till thou tellest me what thy Sentence is At least what it is that thou inclinest to believe of my Actions of the soundness of them and of my state thence to be judged of If thou dost say I do not Repent Believe and Obey the Gospel or that I do not sincerely so do I will not build upon a present rotten title I will beg for God's Spirit and a new Heart by him wrought and new Acts by him excited and a new Claim will I make e're I stir out of this place If thou O Vicegerent of God within me if thou sayest that upon thy utmost search things appear better unto thee and that by the Scriptures judging thou believest me to be a true Penitent sound Believer sincere Obeyer of the Gospel I will not give way to importunate scruples and refuse all comfort and be afraid to bid my Soul bless the Lord and all that is within me Magnifie his Name I will humbly Hope in his grace and loudly Praise him in that hope Vncertainty or somewhat worse must be theirs who will not thus Examine themselves But of Souls well informed about the Covenant of Grace and qualified for Self-Examination and much Exercising it in this manner they are few if any that do long endure tormenting uncertainty Vain are all Trials indeed that are not brought unto an Issue and utterly unqualified they are for trial of their states who are unacquainted with the Covenant of Grace the Law and rule of Trial. A third Duty is Putting our one Talent to use with Thankfulness for it and without murmuring against God for want of Assurance Repent as much as thou canst Believe and Obey so and it is more than probable thou shalt soon discern thy self to Repent Believe and Obey Especially if thou art thankful for the little light that keeps thee from very Distraction and Horrors as bad as Francis Spira's it 's very like that God will encrease it unto the light of Noon-day A fourth Duty is accumulated diligence in all Ordinances Fervence in Prayer loosed Peter's Bonds it made Hannah's Countenance to be sad no more c. Accurate Reading and Hearing the Word hath done as great things and so has holy Conference of which I have lately Printed much in a little room Spiritual singing of Psalms is notably commended by devout Ancients and our Modern Divines for this purpose A fifth Duty is Abounding in such acts of Obedience as do most singularly thwart flesh and blood e. gr Full often doth God hasten to make known his Mercy to them who resist carnal temptations and exceed in mercy towards men Isai 58.7 to the 11th To them who run the hazard of their Names and Estates in reproving Sinners To them who bring their bodies into most subjection and make least of carnal Pleasures for the sake of God's spiritual Consolations To them that unweariedly promote Peace though ill requited by the Parties differing Mat. 5.9 To them that resolutely and painfully against the grain of corrupt Nature do love their Enemies and pardon their Injuries and pray for their Salvation A sixth Duty is a most peculiar War against that one sin which above any or all others causeth a Man to doubt of the love of God Some one such there is And when once that capital Make-bate is with a due specialty of care and pains resisted Assurance may be soon expected God useth to command a Calm as soon as such Jonah's be cast overboard A seventh Duty is Bearing in Mind the many Arguments which we may Plead humbly with God before we get Assurance of his Love e. gr 1 His Names Long-suffering Of great Mercy Forgiving Iniquity Transgression and Sin 2 Our own Extremities these Heman did Plead and we ought to Plead Psal 88.14 15. 3 Our Readiness to forgive others their offences against us Luk. 11.4 4 Our Ministers and Friends Compassions and Prayers Alas shall Men's iron Bowels yern and shall the Lords gracious ones be restrained Psal 80.4 5 The ill use that ill men and good ones too are like to make of our horrors and tremblings Psal 69.6 6 Lastly and principally The universal offer of Grace by Christ Jesus made and of all sinners unto heavy laden ones and weary of their sins and of such lives as sin do make them In a word The gracious Man layeth up these things in his heart Indeed he finds not in his Bible that God hath promised that every one that is a sound Believer shall some time or other in this World be made sure that he is so And he thinks it possible that a man may be saved without Assurance Nevertheless he cannot be content with the Possession of Godliness without the Assurance and certain Persuasion of it As we see Men use not to be quieted with Bread and Water though they be enough to keep Life and Soul together no but all do employ their thoughts for further Provisions He is one that wou'd be able to do the things which without Assurance cannot be done To Despise the World to Bear its Reproaches to Die for Christ's sake to be Bold at the Throne of Grace to have the Word and Sacraments as honey to his Taste to be enlarged in Thanksgiving and Praise to be furthered in Repentance to be fortified against Errors c. And in order to these if he hath never gain'd Assurance he is seeking it if he hath it he is diligently maintaining it if he hath lost it he is at work to regain it And one Cordial he hath