Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	child_n	father_n	good_a	2,753	5	4.1032	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12202	The spirituall favorite at the throne of grace. By the late learned, and reverend divine Richard Sibbs Doctor in Divinity. Published by the authors owne appointment, subscribed with his hand; to prevent unperfect copies	Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635.	1640 (1640)	STC 22512; ESTC S103004	21,096	106

these breathings to God for grace and comfort these spirituall breathings they shew that there is a spring within and spirit within whence these vapors and desires come therefore they are accepted of God because they spring from his owne Spirit And because they are pointed to heaven-ward to shew that a man is turned for it is put here instead of turning Turne yee to me saith the Lord and he answereth here instead of turning My desire is to feare thy name Because when the desire is altered then the frame of the soule is altered a man is turned another way the desire is the weight of the soule What carries the soule but desire Now when the soule is carried another way then before it argues an alteration of the frame therefore it pleaseth God to accept of thē I beseech you let us often enter into our owne soules and examine what our desires are which way the bent of our soules is what cause we would have to flourish and prevaile in the world Christs or Antichrists for God esteemes us by the frame of our desires Who desire to feare thy Name And prosper I pray thee thy servant this day NOw he comes to his petition Prosper I pray thee thy servant this day Hee doth not capitulate with God for particular matters much for he knew hee had to deale with an all-wise God but hee commends his petition in generall Prosper I pray thee thy servant c. He was to attend the King and he was in his attendance to mind the state of the Church for the re-edifying the walls and gates of Ierusalem now saith he in generall Prosper thy servant he leaves it to God how and in what manner being to deale as I said with an infinite wise God onely he prayes in generall prosper thy servant this day He comes againe with his relation of servant to teach us alway when wee come to God to looke in what relation we stand to him whether we be true servants or no what work we doe for him in what reference we doe what we doe whether we doe it to please him as servants or no I said something of the relation of servant before I will adde a little here because he repeates it foure or five times in this short prayer In all our services wee should looke to God for our ayme in our workes shew what they are whether they come from servants or no As the stamp upon a token makes it if there be a good stamp on it it is not the matter that makes it current A stamp on silver makes it current as well as gold though the metall of gold be better So when things are done because God commands them to please God as a service to him this makes it good that we are servants indeed that the relation is good When we goe about the service of the Church or Country or place we live in to thinke I doe God service here and doe it as a service to God who will be honoured and served in our service to others herein I am a good servant though the matter of my service be a common base and meane matter yet it hath a stamp upon it it is Gods will God hath placed and planted mee here and he will be served of me in this condition at this time though the matter of it bee an ordinarie thing I know it may helpe the good of the Church it hath reference to the will of God and the good of the Church Thus if wee doe what wee doe with an eye to God in the place where hee hath set vs that wee doe it as to him we are Gods servants whatsoever the worke is And let us remember oft to thinke of it to bring it in our prayers Master say they when they were ready to be drowned dost thou not care that we perish They put him in minde of the relation they were in to him So when we can put God in minde of our relation Father we are thy children Lord we are thy servants it will strengthen our faith and hope of all good Will a Master suffer his servant to miscarrie in his service surely God will never turne away true hearted servants that have served him a long time It puts us in minde of our duty and serves to strengthen our faith for as it is a word of service on our part so it is a promising word of all good from God Doth he expect that Masters should bee good to their servants because they have a Master in heaven and will not the great Master of Heaven be good to his servants you see how he followes the relation Prosper thy servant this day WHat is included in this word prosper It includes not onely successe which is the maine upshot of all but all that tends to good successe prosper thy servant this day that is direct thy servant this day how to doe and to carry himself And likewise assist thy servant when thou shalt direct him assist him by thy strength direct him by thy wisedome prosper him with thy grace give him good successe in all It includes direction and assistance and good successe in that he saith prosper thy servant it includes these things First of all that in our selves there is neither direction nor wisedome nor abilitie enough for successe we have not power in our selves to bring things to a comfortable issue so it inforceth selfe deniall which is a good disposition when we come to God in prayer And then againe to attribute to God all both wisedome and strength and goodnesse and all here is a giving to God the glory of all when hee saith prosper thy servant this day Then in the third place here is a dependance upon God not onely acknowledging these things to be in God but it implies a dependance upon God for these Prosper me Lord I cannot prosper my selfe thou who art the Creator hast wisedome and strength and goodnesse enough therefore I depend upon thee upon thy wisedome for direction and upon thy strength for assistance I depend upon thy goodnesse and all for a blessed issue here is dependance Againe in the fourth place here is a recommendation of all by prayer a recommendation of his inward dependance upon God for all Now Lord prosper thy servant So that when we come to God for any prosperity and good successe let us remember that wee bring selfe-deniall and an acknowledgement of all excellencie to be in God to guide and direct and assist and blesse us And remember to depend upon him to cast our selves on him to bring our soules to close with the strong and wise and gracious God that God and our soules may close together And then commend all by prayer to cast our selves and our affaires and to roll our selves as the Scripture saith and all upon God and then wee shall doe as the holy man Nehemiah did here we shall desire to good purpose that

all other petty redemptions whatsoever they are Hee that hath given us Christ that hath not spared his owne Son but gave him to death for us all how shall he not with him give us all things else Rom. 8. He that hath been so large and bountifull as to give us his own Sonne that gift to admiration So God loved the world how cannot we plead with him for all other favours whatsoever whether they concerne the life of grace or glory or our present condition while we live in this world Wee may pleade it much more I say Thou hast redeemed us But these things I will not presse further now In the eleventh verse he comes to presse it still and repeates that which hee had said before Lord I beseech thee let thine eare bee attentive to the prayer of thy servant and of thy servants that desire to feare thy Name Let thine eare be attentive to the prayer of thy servants It is a prayer and thou art a God hearing prayer They be thy servants and thou regardest thy servants Here are but a few petitions in this large request remember be attentive and give me favour The most of the prayer is spent in a preparative considering the Attributes of God and in confession strong reasons from the Word of promises and threatnings and from their relation and then he makes good the relation Wee are thy servants because wee desire to feare thy Name To shew that indeed It is an excellent skill and art in Prayer to have strong Arguments THen the suit comes off easily As in Psal. 90. It is a prayer of Moses the man of God and yet the least part of the Psalme is prayer Teach us to number our dayes c. That is all the petition though the petition be short yet it is efficacious when the heart is warmed and strengthened with strong reasons before when the heart is elevated and raised with the consideration of the Majesty and the truth of God and when the heart is strengthned with strong convincing reasons that God will heare when wee presse him with his word I say when the heart is thus raised and warmed all the petitions come easily off Therefore it is an excellent thing Beloved to study the Scriptures and to study all the arguments whereby holy men have prevailed with God in Scripture and to see in what case those Arguments were used they are of use and force to prevaile with God It is a pittifull thing now for Christians under the glorious light of the Gospel to come to God only with bare neked petitions if they come from a true heart they have their force that GOD should regard them and have not reasons to presse God out of his own word they cannot bind God with his own promise nor with Arguments that hee hath been bound with before Let a child but cry to the father or mother there is reliefe presently for the very cry but if it bee not one that is a child but is of growne yeares the Father lookes for arguments that are mooving to presse him with So here Nehemiah he presseth God with moving strong arguments and hee repeates and forceth them hee doth not onely alleadge them but inforceth them Oh Lord I beseech thee let thine eare he attent to the prayer of thy servant and of thy servants that desire to feare thy name He desireth God to bee attentive Hee presseth God and indeede he doth it to warm his owne heart forwhen we have humbled our heart low enough and broken it with the consideration of our own unworthinesse and then warmed it with the consideration of Gods goodnesse and strengthened it with the consideration of Gods promise and truth then wee are sure of a gracious successe Let thine eare bee attent to the prayer of thy servant and of thy servants How did they know that they were thine Because there was no other people in the world that knew God but they And hee knew that the Saints where ever they were had a spirit of prayer and would remember the case of the Church therefore he saith remember my prayer and the prayer of thy servants For if the prayer of one righteous man prevaile much much more the prayer of many If there had beene but ten righteous in Sodome Sodome had beene preserved Now this hee aleageth to God remember the prayer of thy servant of mine and the prayer of thy servants As Tertullian an anciant Father saith very well when men joyne together they offer a holy kind of violence to God prayer is a kinde of wrastling and contending with God a striving with him Let me alone saith God to Moses It is a binding of him with arguments and promises of his owne and it is so forcible that he desires as it were to bee let alone Now if the prayer of one be a wrestling and striving and forcing of him as it were against his will that he said Let me alone as if he could doe nothing except he gave over praying What are the prayers of many when there is a multitude of them Therfore we may looke for a comfortable issue of our prayers and humiliation that is performed at this time The desires of so many Christian soules touched with the spirit of God and with the case of the Church which God doth tender cannot bee unefectuall it must needs draw plenty of blessings from heaven I will not enter into the common place of prayer having spoken of it upon another occasion but surely you see the holy man Nehemiah stood so much upon it that hee hoped to speede because hee and others prayed holy Daniel and others with him It was such a gracious messenger to send to heaven for helpe and for all good that Daniel though it cost him his life that he should be cast into the Lyons den hee would not omit it for his life Take away prayer and take away the life and breath of the soule Take away breath and the man dies as soone as the soule of a Christian beginnes to live he prayes As soone as Saul was converted behold hee prayeth A child as soone as hee is borne hee cryes and a Christian will not loose his prayer for his life as we see in holy Daniell For what is all the comfort that he hath but that that is derived from God and God will be sued unto for all the favours hee bestowes Whatsoever is from his favour it comes as a fruit of prayer for the most part though he goe beyond our desires many times yet ordinarily what we have if we bee his children we have it as a fruit of prayer Therefore I beseech you let us be stirred up to this dutie as we see Nehemiah here remomber the prayer of thy servant c. And when wee pray to God let us presse him as we see here bee attentive verse 6. and here againe be attentive he presseth upon God It is no sinfull tautologie