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_n	good_a	word_n	1,001	5	3.8594	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86356	The good old vvay, Gods vvay, to sovle-refreshing rest: discovered in a sermon preached to the Right Honorable the Lord Maior and court of aldermen of the citie of London, at their anniversary meeting on Wednesday in Easter weeke at Christ-Church, Apr. 24. 1644 being the day of the monethly publike fast. By Thomas Hill B.D. Pastor of Tychmersh in Northampton shire. Imprimatur, Charles Herle.	Hill, Thomas, d. 1653.	1644 (1644)	Wing H2023; Thomason E48_4; ESTC R11496	52,548	61

soules then thou art utterly and everlastingly undone This you should know and consider seriously The first meeting between God and the Soule must bee here on earth in this Good way they runne a desperate hazzard that will venture an immortall Soule and hope of Heaven upon a Lord have Mercy upon them at the last day when they know not whether God will then accept of it or imbrace and owne their Soules yea or no Oh it is a sad thing to think wee should put off God with the dregges of our old age and after our Soules have beene drenched and steeped in prophanenesse and covetousnesse and ungodly cours●s forty fifty yeares together then to think hee ownes our prayers to be as cock-sure of Heaven as any Doe not deceive thy selfe on such uncertaine termes if thou wilt have the right Method to obtaine indeed rest for thy soule Oh! come into Gods way and the sooner you come the better Whatsoever competition commeth betweene thee and secular advantage let all stand by and resolve first to provide for the rest of thy Soule There is a Story of one Marinus a Souldier having hopes of preferment to some place being a Christian It was suggested to him that hee must first forsake his Religion before hee should bee invested in his preferment It was so strong a temptation to him that hee beganne to stagger between his preferment and his Christianity But by the providence of God there commeth one Theodistus to him brings him into the Temple and layeth by him a Sword and the Gospell the Sword was the Ensigne of his place and preferment hee was to have but one now saith hee whether will you have rather the Bible or the Sword and dealt so seriously with him that it pleased God at last to overcome him hee would rather have the Bible and let goe the Sword and preferment and hopes and all worldly pompe and chose the Gospell that so hee might save his Soule Oh that there were many in this Congregation raised to this Heroick resolution this day whatsoever the competition bee Is it a place is it preferment is it an Office Lay the Testament by it and thinke if ever thou wilt save thy Soule thou must let goe thy hopes preferment and possession and deny thy selfe in them rather then let goe thy share in the Gospell whereby thou hast a title for the eternall happinesse of thy immortall soule Let soule bee more deare and precious to thee and the injoyment of God and finding communion with him then all other worldly blessings whatsoever It was a rare disposition worthy of imitation in that great Souldier Terentius when hee might have asked what he would of the Emperour this petition hee would onely beg a Temple for the Orthodox Christians when the Arian persecution did so much prevaile the Emperour denying him that in the behalfe of Christians though he had leave he would not ask any thing more for himself here is a man that did value Religion and the good of soules at an high rate what ever becommeth of his own preferment of his own dignitie Let us say let Religion flourish let the Gospell of Christ runne and bee glorified in the power and purity of it what ever become of our preferment And truely did you know the excellencie the sweetnesse the goodnesse of walking in the wayes of God you would not now like lukewarme reconcilers and moderators accept of a reformation upon any termes so you might save your owne advantages and promote your owne designes there is many a Cassande that would bee such a reconciler that would undertake the arbitration betweene God and man so hee might drive on his project hee would be content to abate somewhat in Religion so hee might serve his owne carnall purpose But let us not bee thus penny wise and pound foolish and in the meane time neglect comming into Gods way this is the onely method that leads to this great advantage to soul-refreshing rest If walking in the good way be Gods method to find soule-refreshing rest then shew your selves good travellers and bee sure you doe indeed walke in this way doe not satisfie your selves in that you know the way but rather say as they in Micah 4. 5. every one will walke in the name of his God Come we will walke in the name of our God for ever and ever you must bee walking stirring moving on many people if they have but got a little smattering knowledge and have their tongues tipped with some Gospell Language that they are able to discourse of Religion they thinke they have made great progresse therein wee know indeed so much as wee practise they onely are good Schollers in Christs Schoole that have learned to turne the knowledge into action and turne precepts into practice to draw confidence out of promises and imitation from good examples Neither is it enough to come into the way when known and to stand still there Many men if they bee once got into a religious forme if they bee but accounted professors they move in such a track of duty and goe plodding on from yeare to yeare and if you had a picture drawne of them now and a picture seven yeares agoe no more light nor no more heate nor no more spirituall vigour then formerly they had this is not to walke in Gods way what progresse make you what addition to the stock of graces what fruit bring you forth the Apostle giveth this counsell in 2 Pet. 1. 5. Adde to your faith v●… c. First indeed if you would be good Christians you must have faith for the justification of your persons faith for the warranting of your duties faith to carry you to Christ to fetch strength to inable you to your duties But then adde to your faith vertue there must bee grace conforming the dutie to the rule of Gods Word doe it in a gra●ious manner vertue adde to your vertue knowledge you must rightly circumstantiate your actions doe them with a proper hi● nunc and adde to your knowledge temperance you must bee sober and temperate in the exercise of gifts and in the injoying of comforts and adde to your temperance patience as you must have sobrietie in the use of comforts so you must have patience in your tryals and adde to your patience Godlinesse you must not have a sullen Stoicks patience be patient of affliction be impatient of sinne and therefore adde to your patience godlinesse and then further adde to your godlinesse brotherly kindnesse Oh love all the members of Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 2. 17. Love the brotherhood the corporation the societie of Saints And what must you have no love to them that are not yet Saints adde to your brotherly kindnesse charity you have a love of complacencie to them that are Saints but you have a love of pitie to them that are without what though they scoffe at you pray for them what if they cannot

he observes what converse his soule hath with Jesus Christ therein what God lookes from him what influence from Heaven what holy imp●●s●on upon his spirit by duty Hee knowes that in this good way God brings downe part of Heaven into his people before hee advance them unto Heaven Hee hath happily tasted that a day of Humiliation may prove a soule-melting day a day of Thankesgiving a soule-cheering day a Communion day a healing and healing day a Sabbath a day of blessing and sanctification so directly doth the good way lead unto God Thirdly the good way comming from God leads unto God and that according unto God according to the will of God tending unto his Honour and the magnifying of his Name That is undoubtedly the best way which leads to happinesse by holinesse He●r 12. 14. The soule-saving way will bee a soule-sanctifying way In 2 Thes. 2. 13. God chose the Thessal●nians to salvation through the sanctification of the spirit and ●e●e●●e of the Truth In the execution of his eternall counsels this is the Method No satisfying evidence to us that we were chosen to salvation from eternity unlesse wee have within us this undoubted pledge of his electing love and spirit of sanctification That way which is not a way of sanctification as well as of Justification is not the good Scripture way to Salvation It lies as a great disparagement upon any new way however many may ignorantly cry it up when peoples opinions marre their practises if whilst they contend for justification they weoken the power of sanctification if in their entertaining the Gospel of Christ they turne out the holy love of God from being a rule of life without question that is not the good way wherein peoples spirits grow dry and barren which opens a back-doore to Sabbath-breaking and other licenciousnesse Suspect your selves and wayes I beseech you if by any of your opinions practicall Christanity wither if therby you become formall and loose in the duties of your places and relations The good way is a soul-emproving a spirita●lizing way In the 1 Tim. 6. 3. Paul directs Timothy thus to judge of Teachers and their Doctrines and accordingly to owne or decline them as they teach and consent unto the wholsome words of Jesus Christ and the Doctrine which is according unto godlinesse clearly holding forth that Christs words are wholsome soule-saving words his doctrine purifies the heart it is according to godlines This age is very fruitfull in multiplicity of opinions If you would know how to judge of them together with your examining of them by the word of Truth observe diligently what influence peoples opinions have upon their spirits and upon their conversation Under the Tyranny of the Prelates many congregations had almost lost the power of Religion in a crowd of needles Ceremonies and now in too many places the vigour of practicall piety is much abated to say no more by multitudes of dispute about some such opinions as might well bee spared This renders the way very suspitious because it is no more according unto godlinesse I confesse if wee should judge of peoples way by their language onely good words are very frequent many mouths are full of Christ Free-grace light liberty c. God forbid that such sweet and precious words should bee abused to countenance either darknesse of error or licenciousnesse of practice Yet alasse how many speake the highest Gospell language who live farre below Gospell priviledges and below Gospel hopes The subtill Devill knowes how to hide his snares under the most speci●us even under Scripture words Try therefore over and over it much concernes you O that it might appeare that the way wherein you walke is the good way being according unto God expressing the reality of godlinesse in the course of your conversation These things being laid downe for the awakening of your vigilancy in enquiring after the good way something must be added concerning your asking for the old paths Herein you shall doe like wise travellers to consult with such as have discovered and trodden the good way before you The good way is an old way Aske then First what is the good old way of Doctrine what is the old patterne of wholsome words 2 Tim. 1. 13. Enquire what Truth Jesus Christ who is the same yesterday and to day and for ever Hebr. 13. 8. did reveale unto his servants and vers. 9. hold that fast and bee not carried about with divers and strange doctrines new and uncouth Doctrines not recommended to us by the Apostles O Timothy saith Paul 1 Tim. 6. 20. keep that which is committed to thy trust Depositum serva that which hath beene committed to thee not what thou hast invented that which thou hast received not that which thou hast found out wherein thou must not bee an Author but whereof thou art a Guardian not an ordainer but a Disciple not a guide but a follower what t●ou hast received in gold re-deliver the same in gold c. Hee had this trust for the Churches use let us diligently enquire after it that wee may bee guided by it Secondly what is the good old way of divine Worship Here you must consult not with the precepts of men but with the word of God revealed of old unto his Church The not minding of this ancient Land-marke hath brought in many superstitious Innovations into Gods service and mis-led thousands of simple soules out of the good way A Statesman of our owne could observe divers causes of superstition 1. Pleasing and sensuall Rites and Ceremonies 2. Excesse of outward and Pharisaicall holinesse 3. Over great reverence of Traditions 4. The Stratagems of the Prelates for their owne ambition and lucre 5. The favouring too much of good Intentions which opens the gate to conceits and novelties 6. The taking an aime at Divine matters by humane which breeds mixture of imaginations In all which there was a neglecting of the holy will of God the onely rule of pure Worship And all this while alasse poore hearts people taking much paines to little purpose In vaine doe they worship mee teaching for doctrines the commandements of men Matth. 15. 9. They over-looke Gods will hee over-lookes their devices so indeed the new way proves a bad and uncomfortable way you must enquire for the good old way if you desire to please God in his Worship Thirdly what is the good old way of practicall piety The beauty of Religion much appeares in the duties of our places and relations to have such a conversation as Paul expressed 2 Cor. 1. 12. in simplicity and godly sincerity not with fleshly wisdome but by the grace of God would much commend the Gospel and fill us with rejoycing in the testimony of our own conscience much of this practicall godlinesse might bee learned as from Scripture precepts and practices so both from the Doctrine and examples of Ancient Worthies Amongst others there are two