Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	christian_a	church_n	religion_n	1,340	5	5.5492	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26958	A moral prognostication I. what shall befall the churches on Earth, till their concord, by the restitution of their primitive purity, simplicity, and charity, II. how that restitution is like to be made, (if ever) and what shall befall them thence-forth unto the end, in that golden-age of love / written by Richard Baxter ...	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1680 (1680)	Wing B1311; ESTC R5743	36,590	70

described 115. Carnal and discontented States-men and Politicians will set in on both sides to blow the Coals and draw on feuds for their own Ends and head the discontented People to their Ruine 116. But in those Countrys where the difference never cometh to such disorders there will be a War bred and kept up in the Peoples Hearts and Neighbours will be against Neighbours as Guelphes and Gibellines 117. When Kingdomes are thus weakened by intestine discontents it will increase the Hopes and Plots of forreign Enemies and make them think that one Party that Suffer will be backward to their own defence as thinking they can be no worse which is the Hopes of the Turks in Hungary 118. It will be a great injury and grief and danger to Christian Kings and States to have their Kingdomes and Common-wealths thus weakened and the Cordial Love and Assistance of their Subjects made so loose and so uncertain 119. And it will be a continual vexation to Wise and Peaceable Princes to Govern such divided discontented People But to rule a United Loving Concordant Peaceable People will be their Delight and Joy 120. A WORLDLY Covetous Proud Domineering Malignant Lazy Clergy will in most Christian Nations be the great Plague of the World and troublers of Princes and Dividers of Churches who for the Interest of their Grandure and their Wills will not give the Sober and Peaceable and Godly Ministers or People Leave to serve God quietly and live in Peace And the Impatient Self-conceited Sectarian Spirit which like Gun-Powder takes Fire upon such Injuries is the secondary divider of the Churches and hinderer of Christian Love and Peace and by their mutual Enmity and abuses they will drive each other so far into the Extremity of Aversation and Opposition that they will but make each other Mad and then like Mad-men run and quarrel while sober Men stand by and pitty them but can help neither the one party nor the other nor preserve their own or the publike Peace 121. The grand Endeavour of the Worldly Clergy will be in most Kingdoms of the World to Engage Princes on their side and to borrow their Sword to do their work with against Gain-sayers For they have no Confidence in the Power of the Keys but will despise them secretly in their Hearts as leaden uneffectual Weapons while they make it the glory of their order that the Power of the Keys is theirs 122. If Princes suppress disorders by the Sword the said Clergy will ascribe the honor of it to themselves and say It was their order that kept up so much Order in the Churches And when they have put Princes to that trouble will assume to themselves the praise 123. The Devil will set in and do his utmost to make both Rulers and People believe that all this Confusion is long of the Christian Religion and the strict Principles of the Sacred Scriptures and so to make Men cast off all Religion and take Christianity to be contrary to their Natural and Civil Interests 124. And the Papists will every where perswade High and Low that all this cometh by meddling so much with the Scriptures and busying the Common People with Religion and leaving every Man to be a Discerning Judge of Truth and Duty instead of trusting implicitely in the Judgment of their Church And so they would tempt Princes tamely to surrender half their Government that is in all Matters of Religion to the Pope and perswade the People to Resign their Reason or Humanity to him that He who is so far off may Rule it all over the World by his Missioners and Agents who must live upon the Prey And then he knoweth that he shall have both Swords and be the Universal King 125. To this end they will strive to make some Rulers as bad as they would have them to do their Work and to make the rest thought worse of than they are that they may have a fair Pretense for their Treasons and Usurpations which was the Case of all the Writers that plead for Pope Gregory the Seventh against the German Emperours who took that Advantage to settle the Cardinals Power of Elections and in a Council at Rome to declare the Pope to be above the Emperour and to Have Power to Depose him And as bad was done in the General-Council at Later under Innocent the Third Can. 2 3. 126. Concerning Princes I shall give you no Prognosticks but Christ's That it will be as hard for a Rich Man to enter into Heaven as for a Camel to go through a Needles Eve And therefore that you may know what Men the Rich will be in most Countries of the World 127. And the Rich will be the Rulers of the World and it s meet it should be so Not that Men should Rule because they are Rich but that they that Rule should be Rich and not exposed to Contempt by a Vulgar Garb and State 128. But some Wise and Good Princes and Magistrates God will raise up to keep the Interest of Truth and Justice from sinking in Barbarousness and Diabolical Wickedn●ss 129. And where Princes and Magistrates are bad they will seldom do so much Hurt as Good or prove very Cruel where the Worldly or Corrupt Clergy do not animate and instigate them Their Reason their Interest and their Experience will lead them by Man-like Usage to seek the Peoples Love and Quietness and their Kingdomes Unity and Strength But Bloody Persecutions such as that of the Waldenses Piedmont lately France Ireland Queen Maries c. are ordinarily the Effects of Clergy-Interest and Zeal 130. The Grand Designe of the Devil through the World will be to Corrupt the Two great Ordinances of Cod Magistracy and Ministry and turn them both against Christ who giveth them their Power The Instances of his Success are most Notorious in the TURKISH EMPIRE and the PAPAL KINGDOME called by them The Catholick-Church Which Campanella de Regno Dei doth labour to prove by all the Prophesies cited by the Millenarians or Fifth-Monarchy-Men to be the True Universal Kingdom of Christ in which by his Vicar the Pope he shall Reign over all the Kings and Kingdomes of the Earth A Prognostication OF THE CHANGES That will be in CHRISTENDOM IN THE Golden Age AND Time of True Reformation and Unity 1. BEcause it is made part of our Prayers Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven and We look for a New Heaven and a New Earth wherein dwelleth Righteousness I hope their Opinion is not True who think that the Earth shall still grow liker and liker to Hell till the general Conflagration turn it into Hell and make it the proper Seat of the Damned Yet lest this should prove True I will place my Chiefest Hopes in Heaven remembring who said Sell all and follow me and thou shalt have Treasure in Heaven and not on Earth But supposing that ever the World will come to Full Reformation and Concord which I am uncertain

Preach the Gospel of Salvation they are not bound to keep up any of their Reputation or Interest as long as they have themselves no hand in the Extreams and Passions of the People And some that have Wives and Children and nothing but the Peoples Charity to find them Food and Rayment being turned out of all publike Maintenance by their Afflicters and Prosecuted still with continued violence will think that it is not their duty to beg their Bread from door to door nor to turn their Families to be kept on the Almes of the Parish by losing the Affection of those People whose Charity only they can expect Relief from And therefore they will think that Necessity and Preservation of their Families Lives and Health will better excuse their silence when they Defend not those that would Destroy them against the overmuch Opposition of the People than the Command of their Afflicters will excuse their silence if they neglect to Preach the Christian Faith And some will think that finding themselves hated and hunted by one party if they lose the Affection of the other also they shall have none to do their Office with nor to do any good to and that they shall but leave the People whom they displease to follow those passionate Leaders that will tempt them to more dangerous Extremities against the Peace of Christian Societies But the most judicious and resolved Ministers that Live not on the Favour or Maintenanee of the People or are quite above all Worldly Interest will behave themselves wisely moderately and yet resolvedly and will do nothing that shall distaste sober and wise Men nor yet despise the Souls of the most Impotent or Indiscreet but by solid Principles endeavour to build them upon solid Grounds and to use them with the Tenderness as Nurses should do their crying Children But yet they will not cherish their Sin under the Pretence of profiting their Souls nor by Silence be guilty of their Blood nor so much as connive at those dangerous Extreams that seem to serve some present Exigence and Jobb but threaten future Ruine to the Churches and Dishonour to the Christian Cause And therefore they resolve not to neglect the Duties of Charity to the Bitterest of their Persecutors And the rather because that it will prove in the end a Charity to the Church and to the Souls of the Passionate whose Charity they labour to keep alive And Silence at Sin is contrary to their Trust and Office And they will not be Guilty of that Carnal Wisdom which would do Evil that Good may come by it or that dare not seek to cure the Principles of Uncharitableness Divisions or Extremities in the People for fear of losing Advantages of doing them Good or that dare not disown unlawful Schisms and Separations for fear of encouraging those Malignants that call lawful Practices by that Name They will do God's Work though with Prudence and not destructive Rashness yet with Fidelity and Self-Denyal And they will lay at Christ's Feet not only their Interest in the Favour of Superiors and their Peace and Safety and Liberty and Estates and Lives which are exposed to Malignant Cruelty among the Cainites of the World but also all the Good Thoughts and Words and Favour of the Religious sort of People yea and Pastors too And they will look more to the Interest of the Whole Church than of a Narrow Party and of Posterity than of the Present Time As knowing that at long-running its only Truth that will stand upper-most when Malignant Violence and Sectarian Passions are both run out of Breath And therefore in Simplicity and Godly Sincerity they will have their Conversations in the World and not in Fleshly Wisdom or Selfish-blinding-Passions or Factions Let all Men use them how they will or judge or call them what they will they will not therefore be false to God and to their Consciences And seeing it is their Office to Govern and Teach the People they will not be Governed by the Favour of the most Censorious Ignorant or Proud but will Guide them as Faithful Teachers till they are deserted by them and disabled But the Sober Antient Wise and Experienced will alwayes cleave to them and forsake the Giddy and Sectarian way 96. In the Heat of these Extremities the most Peaceable and sober Part both of the Conformists and Non-conformists will be in best Esteem with the grave and sober People but in the gratest Streight with both the Extreams 97. The Godly and Peaceable Conformists will get the Love of the Sober by their Holy Doctrine and Lives But they will be despised by the Sectaries because they Conform and they will be suspected by the Proud and Persecuting Clergy as leaning to the Dissenters and strengthening them by their Favour because these Ministers will in all their Parishes more love and honour the Godly Non-conformists than the Irreligious Ignorant Wordly Dead-hearted Multitude or the Malignant Enemies of Godlyness 98. Hereupon these Conformists being taken for the chief Upholders of the Non-conformists will be under continual Jealousies and Rebukes And perhaps new Points of Conformity shall be devised to be imposed on them which it is known their Consciences are against that so they may be forced also to be Non-conformists Because Secret Enemies are more dangerous than Open Foes 99. These Conformists being thus troubled will seel also the stirring of Passion in themselves and by the Injury will be tempted to think more hardly of their Afflicters than before And so will Part of them turn down-right Non-conformists and the other Part will live in Displeasure till they see an Opportunity to shew it And these are the likest to cross and weaken the Worldly Persecuting Clergy of any Men. 100. And as for the Moderate Nonconformists that understand what they do and why and seek the Reconciling of all Dissenters they will also be Loved and Honoured by the Sober Grave and Experienced Christians But both Extreams will be against them The Sectaries will say as before That they are Luke-warm and Carnal Selfish Complying Men The proud imposing-Clergy will say That it is they that have drawn the People into these Extreams and then complain of them that they cannot Rule them And they will tell them That till they Conform themselves their Moderation doth but. strengthen the Non-conformists and keep up the Reputation of Sobriety among them And the nearer they come to Conformity the more dangerous they are as being more able to supplant it And thus the Moderate and Reconcilers will be as the Wedge that is prest by both Sides in the Cleft of Church-Divisions And no Side liketh them because they are not given up to the Factious Passions or Interest of Either 101. Only those will in all these Extremities and Divisions keep their Integrity who are 1. Wise 2. Humble and Self-denying 3. Charitable and principled with a Spirit of Love 4. And do take the Favour of God and Heaven alone for their

that will not forsake all and endure Fines and Jailes rather than to be deprived of the benefits of Mystical and Visible Church-Communion The Magistrate therefore will Wisely and Moderately bring all the People to Hear that which is necessary to their good but will not by Penalties force the unwilling to receive either Absolutions or Communion with the Church in its special priviledges But if the Baptized refuse Church-Communion afterwards they lamentably punish themselves And if it be found meet to declare them Excommunicate it will be a terrible penalty sufficient to its proper use 16. The Magistrate will not Imprison Harm Confiscate Banish or otherwise punish any of his Subjects eo nomine because they are Excommunicate For that is to punish his Body because his Soul is punished Nor will he hearken to those unbelieving Clergy-Men that cry up the Power of the Keys as their Office and when they have done scorn it as an uneffectual shaddow of Power which will do nothing without the Magistrates force But he will himself hear and judge before he Punish and not be debased to be the Clergies Executioner to punish before he have tryed the Cause Because Clergy-Mens Pride and Passions may else ingage him to be the Instrument of their Vices and Revenge Yea as he that seeth a Man punished in one Court will be the more delatory to bring him to punishment in another for the same Crime so the Magistrate that seeth a Man Excommunicated for his fault will rather delay his civil force against that Man to see what effect his Excommunication will have Because the Conjunction of the Sword against the Excommunicate as such doth corrupt Christs Ordinance and make the Fruit of it utterly undiscernable so that no one can see whether ever it did any thing at all or whether all was done by the fear of the Sword And verily a faithful Minister that seeth a Sinner come to Confession of his fault but when he must else lye in Jail and be undone will be loath to take that Man for a true Penitent And to force Pastors to absolve or give the Sacrament to every one that had rather take it than lye in Jail and be undone is to set up such new Terms of Church Communion which Christ will give Men little thanks for Church Communion is only a Priviledge due to Volunteers and Penitents But yet the Magistrate may punish Men with Fines or other Penalties for the same faults for which they are Excommunicate having Tryed and Judged them in his own Court But not quaterus Excommunicate but according to the nature of the Crime 17. The Schools of Learning and Academies shall not Educate Youth either in Idleness Luxury or Hypocritical formality but under Learned Pious Tutors in Learning Sobriety and Piety From whence they shall not over-hastily leap into the Pastoral Office 18. None under Thirty Years of Age at what time Christ himself entered on his publick Works shall take a Pastoral Charge except in case of meer necessity of the Church no not on pretence of Extraordinary fitness But till then shall imploy themselves as Learners Catechists School-Masters or Probationers Nor shall they meddle in the Pulpits with matters of such Controversies as the Church is in Danger to be troubled with 19. Ministers shall all be commanded by the Magistrate and advised by the Neighbour Pastors to forbear all unnecessary Controversies in the Pulpits and to teach the people the foresaid Substantials the Covenant of Grace the Creed Lords Prayer and Decalogue the Duties of Faith Love Repentance and Obedience And shall reserve their Subtiler and curious Speculations for Schools and Theological Writings And so the Christian People shall be bred up in the Primitive Plain Simplicity of Doctrine and Religion And their Brains shall not be heated and racked with those new-coined Phrases and Subtilties which will but distemper them into a proud contentious wrangling Disease but will not be truly understood by them when all 's done And so when it is the peoples work to hear only usually the Doctrine of the Catechisme and simple old Christianity and to talk of no other 1. Their time will be employed in promoting Faith Repentance Love and Obedience which was wont to be spent in vain Janglings and strife of Words And 2. Religion will be an easier thing and consequently will be more common as cheap Food and Rayment is every ones Penny-worth And Ministers may hope to bring the generality of their People to be savingly and practically Religious Whereas the Fine spun Religion of Novelists and Wranglers that pretend new Light and Increase of Knowledge doth not only dwindle into a Cob-web of no Use or Life or Power but must be confined to a Few that can have leisure to learn to Talk in new Phrases and will but become the Matter of ignorant Men's Pride and Ostentation and make them think that they only are the Religious People and all that cannot talk as they are Prophane and not to be admitted to their Communion When as the Apostolick Primitive plain Religion without the Laces and Whimsies that Dreamers have since introduced would make Men Humble Holy Heavenly Obedient Meek and Patient and spare Men the Loss of a great deal of Time 20. The Maintenance of the Ministry shall neither be so poor as to discourage Men from devoting their Children to the Office or disable them from a total Addictedness to their proper Work by any distracting Wants or Cares or yet wholly disable them from Works of Charity Nor yet so Great as may be a strong Bait to Proud Covetous Worldly minded Men to intrude into the Ministry for fleshly Ends. It shall be so much as that the Burden of their Calling may not be increased by Want But yet not so much but that Self-denyal shall be Exercised by all that under-take the Ministry and of the Two the Burden of the Ministerial Labors with its proper Sufferings shall to Flesh and Blood seem to preponderate the worldly Advantage So greatly needful is it to the Church that all Ministers be Self-denying Men that valuing Things spiritually can practise Humility Mortification and Contempt of the World as well as preach it 21. There shall be a Treble-Lock upon the Door of the Ministry 1. Whether they are fit to be Ministers in the general the Ordainers shall judge 2. Whether they are fit to be the Pastors of this or that particular Church the Members of the Church shall so far judge as that none shall become their Pastors without their own consent 3. Whether they be fit for the Magistrates Countenance Maintenance and Protection the Magistrate himself shall judge And therefore all Three shall severally try and approve each Pastor Yet so that the Two First only be taken as necessary to the Office it self and the Third only to the Maintenance and Encouragement or Defence of the Officer And though sometimes this may occasion Disagreements and Delayes for a time yet ordinarily the