Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	bind_v	law_n	nature_n	1,568	5	5.4669	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A25421	The right government of thoughts, or, A discovery of all vain, unprofitable, idle, and wicked thoughts with directions for the getting, keeping, and governing of good thoughts, digested into chapters for the ease of the reader : whereunto are added four sermons / by ... John Angel ...	Angel, John, d. 1655.; T. B.	1659 (1659)	Wing A3162A; ESTC R13149	89,280	271

and that if they can refrain such words and works as are of evil report and punishable then their peace is sound and themselves just though their thoughts be black as hell and conform to the works of the Devil And indeed thoughts are free from punishment by the Laws of men which onely reach to the outward man and a man is not bound by Law or any duty to reveale all his thoughts unto another Salomon tells us That a prating fool or a man of foolish lips shall fall Prov. 10. 8. But the good man must perswade himself that the Lord takes notice of abhors and will punish evil thoughts as the breaches of his Law therein extending more than the laws of men It is a known distinction among all that there are sins of thought as much as sins of word or of deed We read of some that erre because they imagine evil of some that sinned because they tempted God in their hearts Prov. 14. 22. Psal 78. 18. Psal 58. 2. of others that did work wickednesse in their heart Our Saviour gives a check to the Scribes for their evil thoughts Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts Mat. 9. 4. Yea in the Court of Conscience and in Gods sight evil thoughts are in some respect more sinful or lesse excuseable than either words or deeds What is that condemning sin of unbelief what that of hypocrisie whose punishment in Hell is the pattern how other sins shall be punished They are not sins of word they are not sins of work but sins of the inward parts of the mind and of the heart Consider further upon this matter and ye shall perceive 1. That evil thoughts are Ring-leaders to other sins all other uncleannesses begin at the heart Mat. 15. 18. whether they be blasphemies or false-witnessing which are sins of the tongue or murders and adulteries which are sins of deed From contemplative wickednesse we go on to actual so lust within when it hath conceived at temptation without brings forth sin Jam. 1. 15 Imagination is the great wheel of the soul if that move amisse all the whole man runs at random for as the phansie conceives the judgement concludes the will chooseth the affections pursue or eschew and the members of the body execute Wherefore in regard of precedency or causality sins of thought are more sinful or inexcuseable than either words or deeds 2. Our thoughts are more at liberty than our words or actions there is lesse byas hanging upon our thoughts than upon our outward man As these are more free from the shame of the World the censure of enemies the punishment of outward laws the reprehension of godly brethren so they are lesse swayed by hopes of favour from such we love or reverence or hope to rise by In evil times especially many things may afford excuse for miscarriages in our words or deeds Many dangers are following them that are of free language and open works which in this frailty of the flesh may put on our outward faults a mincing infirmity but none nor any of these can any way diminish the fault of our thoughts For notwithstanding all these our thoughts are freed from the byas of fear or favour Jonathan could love David as his own soul though he went in his Father Sauls Army which hunted him as a Partridge upon the mountains Obadiah thought reverently of the Lords Prophets and preserved many of them from the cruel rage of Jesabel though he lived in Ahabs Court But if the inward parts be wickednesse there is no faithfulnesse in those sinners There is no faithfulness in their mouth their inward part is very wickedness Psal 5. 9. It s possible God may have some whose hearts are right with him in evil times though they halt in their words and outward behaviour But if the thoughts of the heart and mind be evil whatsoever the outward appearance is there is no believing of such 3. The temptations of Satan have not such power over our thoughts as they have in our outward man in as much as the Devil is no searcher of hearts and therefore cannot so easily puddle these fountains as he doth by Gods permission our words and deeds I do not say Satan hath no power but not such power The Devil knows the constitution and temperament of mens bodies and can move the humours and by them he can stir up the affections he can represent false species by the senses unto the cogitative faculty and thereby disorder the thoughts But he hath not such an immediate illapse or entrance into the heart as into our outward senses and by how much our thoughts receive less violence and opposition from Satan by so much the sins of our thoughts are lesse excuseable as he is lesse a sinner that sins by temptation than he that sinneth without But thou wilt say Our words and deeds bring more damage unto others and breed a greater scandal amongst the good than our thoughts do I answer Yes and therefore God condemns outward actions that are sinful But the evil of our thoughts are as filthy in our selves and as open to the eyes of God as our actions are and God who especially respects our spirits whether in mortification to sin or in quickning to righteousnesse hath equally forbidden our thoughts as our words or deeds He that said Thou shalt not bear false witnesse Thou shalt not steal said also Thou shalt not covet Wherefore we ought to have a conscientious care of our evil thoughts as of our evil deeds we must account them sinful and punishable and take heed how we receive in thoughts hand over head Good thoughts indeed should be welcom'd when they come lest we be found to resist the Spirit of God for in a motion upon thy thoughts the Spirit of life may come into thy soul But on the other hand if evil thoughts do offer themselves we ought to keep them out I have insisted upon this remedy the longer because until this be cleared up to the judgement that thoughts are sins and punishable and we ought to make a conscience of them all other remedies of evil thoughts will be unprofitable and the mind wil be pestered with them The second General Remedy against evil thoughts is Let a man judge and condemn himself for evil thoughts there is no man living can say his heart is clean and 't is meet that a Christian feel a trouble and heavinesse within him wrought by that disorder and trouble that is in his thoughts Paul is our pattern crying out Oh wretched man that I am Rom. 7. 24. Let us think it expedient for us to cry out against that body of evil thoughts within us that God may deliver us from them Ps 51. we shall never have true and sound peace in our selves unlesse our hearts be clean created within us The Pharisee which cleanseth the outside of the platter hath no true comfort while his inward parts are full of ravening and wickedness Luc. 11.

be offered to God for the better direction of us in the ordering of our conversation all the whole day afterwards and that thereby we may fetch in the help of heaven to enable us through our several duties 3dly after our commending our ways and conversations unto God and interresting him with them our prime care must be to begin at the right end as I may so speak and the direction of the word therein Is first to eschew evill then to do good first to cease to do evill then learn to do well Esay 1. ch 16 17. This is the order of the Scripture first to deny ungodlinesse and worldly lusts then to live righteously soberly and godly in this present world Titus 2. 11 12. otherwise no ordering aright of our wayes but either our confusion or a jumbling of things together promiscuously the race of a Christian in this life Is a passage from sin and corruption to grace and holinesse from mortification to vivification We must not make the first last nor the last first Adam in his innocency had but one task to wit to live holily but we have two First to awake from sin and then to live righteously yea one thing more I will adde we must not only cease from evill and then learn to do well but we must begin to adhorre that which is evill and cleave to that which is good Rom. 12. 9. We must not only leave sinne in outward action but abhorre it in the inward affection not onely do that which is good but cleave to it and affect it otherwise we shall never be constant and cheerful in the doing of good and also we shall quickly return with the dogge to his vomit in the falling upon that which is evill thus a man walking in his calling must first loath the sins incident to his calling and then love to put in exercise the practical duties of the same otherwise his faults will marre his duties but his duties will not mend his faults when men make conscience to avoyd sin that will facilitate and more easily introduce the service of God and here also it must be your wisdom to pitch your resolutions not to give way to harbour any sin be it never so small for whosoever breaketh one keepeth none of the commandements Jam. 2. 10. some think that though they allow themselves in one thing that is evill yet they may order their conversation aright in other matters but what saith Salomon Eccles 10. 1. dead flyes cause the oyntment of the Apothecary to send forth a stinking savour so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour so then as we must make conscience to refrain our feet with David from every evill way Psal 119. 101. that so we may keep Gods word so especially from our darling bosome and predominant corruptions such as our natural inclination or custome our profit or pleasure have made as dear to us as our right eye or right hand Matth. 5. 29. Secondly from secret sins the very shame of men may keep us from open sins but it must be the fear of God that keeps and preserves from secret ones to which none are privie but our own soules Thirdly we must shun not only foul and scandalous sins but even lesser ones as petty oaths foolish jesting merry talking as the world stiles it wherein sometimes there is a great deal of evil mispence of precious time c. Fourthly we must by all means take heed of the sins of the times wherein we live and the sins of our particular callings or else we shall be ensnared before we be aware And as without reservation we must leave all sin so without exception we must make conscience of every duty wittingly and willingly not living in the neglect of any one of them then shall we not be confounded when we have respect unto all Gods commandements Psal 119. 6. some men make conscience to be just in their words and deeds but little care of the duties of piety to God or mercy to wards the poor but the fruit of the spirit is in all goodnesse and righteousnesse so saith the blessed Apostle 2 Pet. 1. ch 5 6. 9. Yea further we must make conscience of the most uncouth and harshest duties such as by nature we are most averse from as loving our enemies blessing of those that curse us praying for those persecute us Matth. 5. 44. so likewise of secret duties Matth. 6. as of private prayer liberality to the poor which give the soundest testimonies to our own soules of our sincerity towards God Luke 14. 13. now that we may do all this Fourthly a great measure of knowledge and skill is required in the Scriptures that we may be able to put a difference betwixt good and evil we must therefore prove what that perfect good and acceptable will of God is Rom. 12. 2. and be much verst in Scripture where the rules and directions for ordering our conversations aright are delivered we must have a care that the word of God dwell plenteously and richly in us Col. 3. 16. else we shall never be able to order our steps in the word which is only the directing of them aright I remember the similitude of Peter Martyr in a Sermon of his which was the means of the conversion of that noble Italian Galeacius Caracciolus Suppose saith Peter Martyr a man were upon the top of an hill and casting his eyes down to the valley should there behold a company of persons frisking and skipping would he not think they were mad and out of their wits but afterwards descending and coming nearer and nearer unto them and hearing the musick and marking how they danced according thereunto and kept their measures and proportions he is much taken therewith and esteemeth that admirable which before he counted folly even so doth the conversation of Gods people looked upon at a distance and and by it self considered seem to many madness and folly and they think it strange that you run not with them into the same excesse of riot and therefore they speak evill of you 1 Pet. 4. 4. but viewing their conversations more closely and exactly and comparing the several steps thereof how sutably it is carried to the word of God and how men dance according to the harmony of that musick then they begin to be much taken with that which before they disliked and do verily think that this is the most glorious life and conversation in the world It pleased God so to affect the heart of that Noble Marquesse forementioned herewith that he resolved to study the Scriptures and to order his conversation thereunto and so was converted from Popery to the true Religion and left his own Countrey and came to Geneva in Calvins daies where he lived holily and ended his daies happily So much for the general directions I come now to the spicial ones and will give you some of the principal of them as they are