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	pray_v	prayer_n	1,383	5	6.4846	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96519	The gainefull cost. As it was delivered in a sermon preached before the Right Honourable House of Lords, in the Abbey Church of Westminster, on VVednesday the 27. of November, being the day appointed for solemn and publike humiliation. By Henry Wilkinson, B.D. Pastor of Faiths under Pauls.	Wilkinson, Henry, 1610-1675.	1644 (1644)	Wing W2222; Thomason E23_2; ESTC R20564	35,536	37

into glory but we doe not like this striving to enter men therefore beat their bargain as low as they can and faine they would bring down the price of heaven they are not good customers they undervalue the commondity they seeme to bid faire many of them and Agrippa-like are almost perswaded but since they will not come off roundly with the Merchant and sell all that they have for Christ but come neare the price and not come up to it and almost reach it but not altogether they shall altogether goe without it Such as these bee like those fordid Jewes that valued Christ at the rate of a slave as it is said Zech. 11. 13. a goodly price I was prized at of them c. Men will bee contented to be at cost for any thing for vanity that they may have it in possession rather then for glory which they look on in reversion but are much mistaken in the thing Now when all costs and charges are to be cast up and all accounts to be brought in at the last day then will Christ bring in his arreares and he will then tell how we would not bee at cost for him they will have a sad reckoning to whom Christ will say at the last day as he is brought in speaking Mat. 25. 42. 43. You indeed professed to love me but when I was an hungred yee gave me no meat you would not be at the cost of a piece of bread with mee when I was thirsty you gave me no drink you would not be at the cost of a draught of drink with me I was a stranger and yee took me not in you could not afford me a little roome or lodging in your house I was naked and yee clothed me not you would not be at so much cost as bestow cast clothes upon me sick and in prison and yee visited me not When by reason of ill dyet and hard and cruell usage inprison I was ready to be starved you would not so much as provide some comfortable thing for me that might have refresht me How shall I say that you loved mee when you suffred mee to beg and starve and goe naked when a little cost only your superfluities would have supported and maintained me in good fashion Then for the profession of the Gospel he will bring his accounts in for that he will then shew how that men like the foolish Virgins did procure lamps and would be at the paines to trimme them perhaps and likewise to goe forth to meet the Bridegroom but they would never bee at cost for Oyle Matth. 25. 12. Then for the confessing of Christ hee he will bring in his charge upon that and shew how men indeed did take upon them to confesse him in shew but they never would be at the cost and paines to do it in truth For they could hear his name blasphemed and torne in pieces by dogs and never stand up in the vindication of his honour they could see his ordinances trampled on and not so much as afford a word or deed to advance them So that Christ will say thy confession of me was a meere deniall of me then shall they finde the truth of that Mat. 10. 33. Whosoever shall deny mee before men him will I deny before my Father that is in heaven Then you shall have all holy duties and graces bring in their accounts and tell how they were performed and embraced prayer will say these Christians did say a prayer but never pray a prayer they never sighed or gronaed in prayer Rom. 8. 26. The word of God will speak and say that indeed they did hear it sometime but heeded it not like those in Ezech. 33. 32. they heard but did not practice they read sometime but remembred not Sabbaths will say they never were entertained with delight they never were sanctified with spirituall rejoycing they never observed them with any severity but spake their own words thought their own thoughts did their own works expressely contrary to that Is 58. 13. Then will Fasts come in and say that they never afflicted their soules nor shed a teare in a whole day nay they have found their own pleasure upon a fasting day which the Lord complaines of Isa 58. 3. All duties and graces will come in and say that they never had the heartcost the soule was never engaged for them so that all these that are in such a condition will bee looked upon as those that offered that to God which cost them nought even as those Mat. 1. 8. that thought any thing good enough for God even the halt and the blind and the sick If heaven might be had with ease and idlenesse sleep and security carelessenesse and negligence and with Balaams wish these will offer as faire as any and there will be customers enough indeed who would be out of it of the vilest of men and what Saint would ever come there Let us not flatter and deceive our selves what ever we give to God must be superlative and excellent the choysest ingredients are to bee put into every service he will have our righteousnesse an exceeding righteousnesse Matt. 5. 20. Except your righteousnesse exceed the righteousnesse of the Scribes and Pharisees yee shall in no case enter into the Kingdome of heaven What a shame will it be that pride and malice and luxury c. shall be able to bring in upon their accounts such vast summes and duties and graces they bring in cyphers or which is worse instead of accounts they will bring in complaints and tell how they were vilified and scorned and trampled under feet prayer and hearing the word and reading and holy meditation c. will tell how they were not heeded and how indeed Gallio-like they cared not for any of these things they will tell how sometimes they were put off as Felix did Paul to a more convenient season sometimes they were almost perswaded like Agrippa sometimes as Herod and his men of warre entertained Christ Luk. 23. 11. they were set at nought and mocked sometime the dancing of an Herodias sometime the kisse of a Dalilah sometimes mammon and the cares of the world sometimes gamesters sometimes good fellowes sometime one sometimes another interposed that these duties and the rest could finde no roome no time could be spared for them this will be but a sad reckning Think not that heaven will stoope to such base offers as lazie and negligent men doe make for we see that we must eat our daily bread in the sweat of our browes much more the bread of life We must sweat for Christ we must bleed nay we must die for him Thirdly consider the Cause of God amongst us the building of the Lords house the setting up of his ordinances worship service and discipline amongst us what hath this businesse cost us You will tell me it hath cost millions already and yet I feare it hath cost but little Let us cast up the expences at first it

mixture of drosse bright refined silver withut mixture of tynne and simple wine without mixture of water and the Oxe without the Asse that is the cleane without the uncleane by all which the best services are set forth being things of the most value and greatest price and cost to offer a service to God free from our wills mingled with Gods our pollutions mingled with his holy injunctions to offer him a service free from our own hypocrisie our own principles our own leaven to offer him a service intirely his with a totall self-deniall as it is a very difficult thing to flesh and blood nay impossible so is it very costly in regard of the paines and sweat c. we must lay out in it Secondly that which we offer to God must be our own But how 2 What wee give to God must bee our owne can that be what ever we have is Gods already I will not trouble you with distinctions of proprietas jus donum but in brief that we have may be said to be ours and Gods too 1 Chron. 29. 3. David sayes he had prepared of his own proper cost and yet ver 14. 16. it was said to be Gods a 1 What Spanh●mius sayes concerning opera bona may be applyed to our purpose speaking how they can be said to be nostra Di●untur nostra quia à Deo donata nobis neque quaerentibus neque prome entibas for which hee qu●es Salme●on Tract 30. Tom. 5. Nosirum enim quod nobis dotur ab alio ergo illud quod nobis denatur à Deo Sic Christus noster est 2. Opera nostra dicuntu contradistinctè alienis 3. Scri●tura aliquando uscribit gratiam gloriam nobis aliquando Deo ut Paulus vult nos 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 salutem nostram nos convertere c. Interdum ascribit Deo utramque Deum dare velle perficere c. The same may be said of that we offer to God sometimes it is called ours sometimes it is called Gods Dub. Evangel c. An. quomodo bona opera nostra Therefore when I say ourown I meane not only in respect of some propriety and interest by the Civill lawes of a State for all the things and their very title by which the wicked doe possesse them are impure Tit. 1. 15. but their owne in respect of a higher title and better interest as holding all in captie in and by Christ 1 Cor. 3. 22 23. he that builds a Church by that which he hath gotten by usury or bribery or by false dealing which he hath exercised against the Saints he raiseth a materiall temple upon the ruines and bones of the spirituall temples He that gives to the poore that which he gets from others injuriously he serves God upon other mens charges He that performs any spirituall duty there must be the actuall exercise of a mans own gifts or else it is not accepted For suppose one joyne in prayer with another and heares a sermon if a mans owne faith c. be not engaged in the businesse though they bee excellently performed in regard of him with whom he joynes yet this is to offer a service which is not ones owne no man must spend for God at another mans cost or be at another mans finding every one must serve him in the sweat of his owne brows He that gives that to God which he takes from others this is theevery rather then bounty We may speak of mens offering to God as a Testari nequ●uut impubes religiousus Filius in sacris morti damnatus obs●s Crimine damnatus cum muto surdus ille Qui Maj●statem l●sit sit caecus ipse Vid. Io. ab Imol. in c. qua Ingredientibus de testa extra In every one of those there is some desect some want either he is not sui juris or he wants his senses c. Vid. H. Swinburne B. of Civill Law 2 part of briefe Treat of Testaments and Wills 3 What we offer must bee free and with a willing mind Civilians doe concerning those that they say may not bequeath or give away by testament if they be not their own men or at their owne disposing or the like they cannot give Thirdly that which we offer to God we must offer freely without constraint of a ready minde and willingly we must offer our hearts in the sacrifice we give and service we perform to God The Civilians have a distinction betwixt b Munus propriè est quod necessariò obimus lege more impen●ve ejus qui jubendi habet potestatem Dona autem propriè sunt quae nulla necessitate juris of sicii sed sponte praestantur quae si non praestentur reprehensio est si praestentur plerumque law inest Pancirol de Donis and he out of Marcian l. Manus de verb. signif donum and munus that is munus which is performed upon duty that is donum which a man may chuse whether he will doe or offer or no as being free in the thing Whatsoever we offer to God we are bound to doe it and so in their sense it cannot be donum but munus however if it be with the heart we may say in a theologicall sense that it is a freewill offering when we offer our hearts wills and affections we offer freely and then we are said to give to God That man that doth not offer his heart though perhaps he may doe much and give much as they did Isa 10. c. yet their service is not looked on as a costly service it wants the heart But he that offers never so little yet if he gives the heart he offers cost he gives himselfe it is worth a whole world He gives freely that gives all though he gives never so little and he gives as much as any can doe for he leaves himselfe nothing that gives himselfe in the gift This is the cost God looks at more then all the treasures in the world And therefore David in that great bus●esse of preparing for the Temple exhorts the Princes of Israel to set their hearts and their souls to seek the Lord 1 Chron. 22. 19. 〈◊〉 therefore and build c. by which he showes clearly that unlesse the heart were in the businesse it would be nothing worth So when the Tabernacle was to be set up there was proclamation made that whosoever was of a willing minde should bring his offering c. Exod. 25. 2. so also it is observed Exod. 35. 21. how willingly they came and offered their hearts it is noted likewise ver 22. and 29. how freely they gave and Exod. 36. 5 6. it is observed that they were so hearty in the work that there was a●restraint laid upon them that they should give no more In 1 Chron. 29. 2. it is said of David that he prepared with all his might for the house of God and ver 3. hee set his affection to the work