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	faith_n	life_n	1,074	5	4.4282	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09997	Remaines of that reverend and learned divine, Iohn Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Majesty, master of Emanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes-Inne Containing three excellent treatises, namely, Iudas's repentance. The saints spirituall strength. Pauls conversion.	Preston, John, 1587-1628.	1634 (1634)	STC 20249; ESTC S115107	168,230	405

worke and change in the soule and therefore the holy Ghost saith they suffered with patience the spoiling of their goods that is they let them willingly goe life and liberty and all shall goe ere Christ shall goe A noble Roman may doe something for his countrey and for himselfe but there is a by-end in it he doth it not in a right manner unto a right end but the spirituall strong man doth all things in a spirituall manner unto a saving end the one doth it for vain glory but the other in uprightnesse of heart for there is a double worke of faith First it empties a man as a man that hath his handfull cannot take another thing till hee let his handfull fall so when faith enters into the heart of a man it empties the heart of selfe love of selfe will it purgeth out the old rubbish that is naturally in every mans heart and lets all goe to get hold on Christ all shall goe then life and honour and profit and pleasure and hee is the truly spirituall man that can thus loose the world to cleave to Christ and miserable are they that cannot Secondly as it empties the heart of that which may keepe Christ out of the soule so in the second place he seekes all things in God and from God that is he first seekes Gods love and Gods blessing upon what he doth injoy and then he goes unto secondary meanes and uses them as helpes but a man that wanteth faith he will not let all goe for Christ hee will not seeke first unto God in any thing but unto secondary meanes and then if hee faile that is want power to supply then it may be he will seeke unto God and hence it is that he will not loose his life or liberty or honour for Christ because he sees more power and good in the creature then in God Againe this makes the difference betweene Christian and Christian namely faith and hence it is that some are weake and others are strong hence it is that some are more able then others for the greatest duties of Reiigion as for example Caleb and Ioshua can doe more then the rest of the people and what is the reason but because they were stronger in the faith then others and so Paul said of himselfe that he could doe more then they all because Paul had a stronger faith For the truth of a mans strength is knowne by his strength of faith that he hath whether he be naturally strong or spiritually strong for this is the first worke of the Spirit after the humiliation of him in the conversion of a sinner namely to worke faith in him and no sooner faith but as soone by degrees strength and then the promise followes faith He that beleeveth and is baptized shall be saved but he that beleeveth not shall be damned Marke 16. 16. and this is the course that wee take in preaching first wee Preach the Law unto you and we doe it to this end to humble you and to breake the hard disposition of your hearts that so they may be fit to receive Christ and when we have throughly humbled you then wee preach unto you the Gospell beseeching and perswading you to beleeve in Christ for the pardon of sinnes past present and to come and to lay downe the armes of rebellion which you have taken up against Christ and you shall be saved but yet notwithstanding you are neither humbled by the one nor perswaded and provoked by the other but are as the Prophet saith You have eyes and see not you have eares but you heare not seeing you doe not see and hearing you doe not heare as for example when a man is showed a thing but yet hee minds it not when the eye of the minde is upon another object that man may be said to see and not to see because he doth not regard it or a man that hath a matter come before him he hears it but his minde being otherwayes employed he regards it not in which regard hee may be said to heare and not to heare because he minds it not And what is the reason that though wee preach the Law and the Iudgements of God so much unto you beseech and perswade you so often to come in and receive Christ and you shall be saved time after time day after day yet we see no reformation at all what is the reason that the word wants this effect in you as to humble you and that you are no more affrighted with the Iudgements of God then you are and that you remaine as ignorant and carelesse as ever you were the reason is because you doe not beleeve you want a true saving applying faith for if you had that the word would worke other effects in you then it doth If one should tell a man that such or such a benefit or legacie is befalne him that would raise him unto great honour though before hee lived but in a meane condition now if this man did but beleeve it then surely he would rejoyce Truly so if you did but beleeve that Christ and grace and salvation were so excellent and that holinesse and the strengthning of the inward man would bring you unto so happy a condition and estate as to be the heires of heaven you would rejoyce in Christ and grace only Againe if you did beleeve that the Word of God is true and that God is a just God if the drunkard did but beleeve that drunkards shall be damned or if the Adulterer did but beleeve that no adulterer should inherit the Kingdome of God Christ or if the prophane person and the gamester did but beleeve that they must give account for all their mis-spent time and idle words and vaine communication they would not sport themselves in their sinnes as they doe Againe if men did but beleeve that God calles whom and when he lists and that many are called but few are chosen that is here is a Church full but it may be but a few of you shall be saved I say if men did but beleeve this they would not surely deferre their repentance they would not put off the motions of the Spirit but they would strik whilest the iron is hot and grinde whilest the wind blowes but men will not beleeve and therefore it is that they goe on in sinne as they doe It is not so for earthly things men are easily brought to beleeve any promise of them as for example if one should come and tell a man of a commoditie which if he would but buy and lay by him it would in a short time yeeld a hundred for one oh how ready will men be to buy such a commoditie with the wise Merchant Mat. 8. 44. They wold sell al that ever they had to buy this oh that men would be but thus wise for their soules beloved I tell you this day of a commoditie the best the richest the profitablest commoditie that

regard of the qualitie and disposition to what it was and yet in substance remaines the same as for example put Iron into the fire the Iron is the same it was in substance before it came into the fire but now it hath another qualitie it was cold and stiffe and hard and unplyable but now it is hotte and soft and plyable and this change is throughout in every part of it and yet it is Iron still So it is with the Spirit when it comes into the heart of a Christian he mingleth and infuseth spirituall life into all the parts of the soule and therefore it is said if Christ be in you the body is dead as touching sinne but the Spirit is alive The body is dead that is as touching raigning sinne he is like a tree that wants both sap and roote or as a man that is dead that wants a soule hee is now dead whatsoever he was before but the spirit is alive to God Therefore examine if this thorow great change be in you see then what death there is in you to sinne and what life unto holinesse I call it a thorow and great change because a little one will never bring you in such a frame as to be fit for heaven And againe the Apostle calles it a great change in Rom. 12. 2. be you metamorphosed that is throughly changed new moulded againe in 2 Corin. 3. 18. You are saith the Apostle changed from glory to glory and therefore consider that every change will not serve the turne but it must bee a great change as the changing of Christs Spirit for your owne spirit which if you have then you shall come out of every affliction and every difficultie like gold out of the furnace like cloath out of the die of Lions you shall bee Lambes of Serpents you shall be Doves therefore see whether this change be in you or no if this change be in you then when your old guests that is your old lusts shall come and finde that his old companion is cast out of doores and that the soule is swept and cleansed hee will not stay but seeke abiding else-where but on the contrary if your opinions of sinne be the same if you have the same lusts reigning in you if you use the same evill company and have the same haunts that ever you had you have not the Spirit and so long as you remaine thus doe you thinke that Christ will come and sup and dine with you and yet you will not erect a building for Him in your hearts therefore if you would have Christ and the Spirit then labour to get holinesse The fourth signe whereby you may know whether you have the spirit or no is this if it be but a common spirit you shall find that it will doe by you as the Angels doe by assumed bodies they take them up for a time and doe many things with them to serve their owne turnes but they doe not put life in them such is the common spirit but the sanctirying spirit puts life into the soule Wherefore examine your selves whether the spirit makes you living men or no for when the sanctifying Spirit shall joyne with the soule of a man it will make him to doe suteable things and bring forth suteable actions for as the body is dead without the soule so the soule hath of it selfe no spirituall life to good without the spirit wherefore as Paul speakes of unchast widdowes that they are dead while they live 1 Tim. 5. vers 6. so I may say of every man that hath not the spirit they are dead men dead to God to good to grace to holinesse I say there is no life without the Spirit men are not living men because they walke and talke and the like but they are living men that live in the spirit and by the spirit and on the contrary there is no true life neither are men to bee esteemed living men that want the spirit Now for the examination of our selves by this rule consider First wee have but an assumed body of grace and holinesse when in the practice of life we assume unto our selves onely the outward forme of godlinesse but regard not the power cleaving in our affections to that which is evill and leaving the things that are truely good I doe not say when you hate good but when you preferre evill before it in your choise and set it at the higher end of the Table and serve it first and attend upon it most when that crosseth holinesse but you will not againe crosse it for the Love of Christ when it is thus with you whatsoever you thinke of your selves you have not the sanctifying Spirit but a common spirit without life Secondly you have but an assumed body of grace if you have it not in a feeling manner the sanctifying spirit workes a spirituall sence and taste in the soule that is if you have the sanctifying spirit then holy things will have a good taste they will bee sweet unto you it will purge out that which is contrary to the growth of the inward man on the contrary the common spirit will never make you to taste grace as it is grace or because it is grace that is grace will not bee a dainty thing it will bee without a good savour Therefore examine what taste of good you have whether you can rellish grace or no if not you have not the sanctifying spirit but an assumed habit of grace that is a common spirit without the life of grace Thirdly as assumed bodies are unconstant that is walke onely for a time but they walke not alwayes even so if you have but a common spirit you will not be constant in good but off and on the rule A man that is living in Christ you shall still find him living and moving and doing the actions of the new man a man that hath but a common spirit may do somethings that are good hee may keepe and presse downe some sinne awhile but not alwayes neither then because it is sinne but because it crosseth his profit or pleasure or some other thing Againe he may have some taste and rellish of spirituall things but hee is not purged and cleansed by them First he may walke as a living man walkes that is performe holy duties but they are not constant in holy duties neither doe they performe them in obedience but out of selfe love that is they are still ebbing and seldome flowing they omit ofter then they performe Therefore let me exhort you that are alive and have beene dead be you carefull to prize your life and you that have beene alive but now are dead that is you that have falne from your holinesse and zeale and have lost your first love and strength labour now to recover it againe And you that are alive and yet are falling let me exhort you to strengthen the things that are ready to dye if there bee any here