Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	day_n	good_a	lord_n	2,726	5	3.8026	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47748	Liturgy's vindicated by the dissenters, or, The lawfulness of forms of prayer and liturgies proved from the very texts of Scripture urged against them by John Bunyan and the dissenters / by the author of the Religious conference between a minister and his parishioner about infant baptism.	Leslie, Charles, 1650-1722.	1700 (1700)	Wing L1137; ESTC R34970	43,840	127

Expressions by no means agree to St. Paul who was Converted before this being quite contrary to the Nature of a Regenerate Man who is said in other places of this Epistle to be free from Sin and the Servant of Righteousness Rom. 6.18 That the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ has made me free from the Law of Sin and Death Rom. 8.2 That he has crucified the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts Gal. 5.24 That Sin does not Reign in his mortal Body that he should obey it in the Lusts thereof Rom. 6.12 So that unless we can twist Contradictions we cannot suppose St. Paul to speak of himself in that seventh Chapter but only of a Judaising Christian or a Convinced but not Converted Person and nothing is more usual than for Prophets and Apostles to speak in the Person of others when they say I or We did so or so for we cannot suppose St. Paul and the rest of the Apostles or indeed any sensible Christian so very Ignorant as not to know to whom and thro' whom and for what to Pray and therefore the we know not c. must have respect to other Men and such as were Heathens and Unconverted who had not before heard of Christ or seen the Gospel where there are Rules laid down and those Dictated and written by the Holy Spirit how they and all Men ought to Pray even to our Father which is in Heaven thro' his beloved Son Jesus Christ for such Lawful things as are according to his Will And when Men Pray thus according to that excellent Form which Christ has prescribed his Holy Spirit will also assist them with good Desires so that they shall Heartily wish and long for those things for which they Pray with submission to the Will of God and thus the Spirit helpeth our Infirmities in revealing to us the Holy Scriptures where those that were Ignorant before are taught how to Pray as they ought But our Author goes on with his Paraphrase p. 30.31 The Apostles when they were at best yea when they were assisted with the Holy Ghost yet then they were fain to come off with Sighs and Groans c. Mark here says he they could not so well and fully come off in the manner of performing this Duty as these in our Days think they can But is not this another good Argument for Forms of Prayer when the Apostles themselves stood in need of them and therefore desired Christ to teach them such a Form as John had taught his Disciples Luke 11.1 Lord teach us to Pray as John also taught his Disciples And certainly they had need to be taught such a Form to help them out if they were such Bunglers at Prayer as J. Bunyan represents them viz. That they were not able to make an end of the Prayer they had begun in the Congregation but were forc'd to break off abruptly perhaps in the midst thereof which must needs cause Shame to themselves and Disappointment and Confusion to the whole Assembly which all their Sighs and Groans would never be able to compensate but no Man of Sense can believe the Apostles ever Prayed at this rate in the Church of God where they command all things to be done Decently and in order and to the Edification of the People 1 Cor. 14.26.40 For what Order Decency or Edifying is there in Sighs and Groans which Hypocrites may utter as well as Sincere Christians And when either does it who can tell the meaning of them And may not a Man edifie as much by the Quakers Silent-meetings as by such Sighs and Groans which have no certain and determinate Signification as Words and Speeches have And yet if we may believe Jo. Bunyan these were a good part of the Apostles Prayers even in their publik Assemblies but the Proof which he brings for it is Simple and Ridiculous viz. For the Spirit it self maketh Intercession for us with Groanings which cannot be uttered Whereas these are not the Groanings of the Apostles or of any Man else upon the Face of the Earth but the Groanings of the Holy-Ghost himself in Heaven where together with the Lord Jesus he maketh Intercession for us at the Right-hand of God and that in a very fervent and powerful manner which St. Paul calls his Groanings which cannot be uttered and therefore can never be applyed to the Groanings of Men which are always heard and make a sound in their very utterance So foolish and presumptuous is this Man in Expounding and Applying this Text especially in endeavouring to prove from it that the Holy Spirit does invent and dictate to us the very words of Prayer for here are no Words at all proceeding from the Spirit but only Groanings How then can this place prove that the Spirit suggests to us the Words of our Prayer when he interceeds for us without Words even with Groanings but pray mistake not not with such Groanings as Jo. Bunyan and his Party makes and may be heard in every corner of the House and in the very Streets but with Groanings that cannot be uttered And that these are the inexpressible Desires of Christ and the Spirit of God in Heaven is plain from Rom. 8.27 He that searcheth the Hearts i. e. Almighty God whose Prerogative it is knoweth what is the Mind of the Spirit because he maketh Intercession for the Saints according to the Will of God So that this Text also as all the rest turns upon the Objector and proves that the Spirit does not put Words into their Mouths nor cause those Groanings which are so loud and frequent in their Meetings the Spirits Groanings here being said to be without noise or sound without utterance or expression they are such as cannot be uttered Whence I may well conclude that Jo. Bunyan 's extemporary Prayers his dismal Groans and those Fits and Agonies of the Spirit which he says he was sometimes in when he was strongly perswaded to leave off and to seek the Lord no longer p. 71. I may conclude I say that this is a great Cheat of the Devil and Antichrist by which he does delude and deceive the World by which Men would perswade themselves and others that they Pray with the Spirit that they Preach with the Spirit and Hear with the Spirit even with the same extraordinary Spirit which St. Paul had when there is no such thing but they are rather possessed by an evil Spirit which makes them think and speak so highly and vain-gloriously of themselves and so contemptibly and uncharitably of others their Mouth speaketh great swelling Words having Mens Persons in admiration because of advantage These be they that separate themselves Sensual having not the Spirit Jud. ver 16.19 CHAP. VIII HAving said in the Conclusion of the former Chapter that J. Bunyan and his Party have not the Spirit to which they so much pretend I come now to prove this Charge against them from two substantial Arguments 1st Their Disobedience to their Lawful

and I doubt the Persecution of the Hand would soon follow if it lay in these Mens Power this way to hurt us and perhaps they might think it meritorious and that they should do God good Service in destroying us as the mad Jews did when they killed Christ's Disciples Joh. 16.2 This is certain that the Anabaptists and other Dissenters who now cry out so much of Persecution have proved themselves desperate Persecutors as often as they have had Opportunities to shew it witness their Ejecting Decimating and Sequestrating their Imprisoning Banishing and Beheading so many of the Loyal party in Cromwell 's Days who by these Mens advice and assistance acted all those Villanies upon his faithful fellow Subjects and imbrued his Hands in his gracious Sovereign's innocent Blood in the shedding whereof all the Sectaries concurred but especially the Anabaptists who some of them sat as his Judges and condemned him 〈◊〉 * See the Life of King Charles the First p. 55. interrupted him in his last Devotions and offer'd Affronts to him in his dying Moments and Agonies not suffering him to Pray or Dye in quiet without disturbing his Charitable Soul with unusual rudeness and injuries witness their Rebellion likewise against King James the Second under the Conduct of the Duke of Monmouth a considerable part of whose Commanders Officers and Soldiers were Anabaptists and this resistance of their rightful Sovereigns tho' contrary to Rom. 13. and the practice of all the Primitive Christians yet these Men Justify Defend and Canonize such for Saints and Martyrs as died in it and were executed for it as may be seen in a Rhiming Pamphlet of Benjamin Keach's entituled * See distressed Sion relieved p. 25 26 27. c. where some that were Rebels to two if not 3 Kings are named as Saints and Martyrs Distressed Sion releived or the Garment of Praise for the Spirit of Heaviness wherein are to be found diverse instances of such Army Saints and Fighting Martyrs tho' I dare say the first the Christian Church ever heard of since the Foundation of it all the Martyrs in Queen Mary's Days and under the Ten Persecutions being Strangers to Carnal Weapons and accustomed only to Spiritual ones even Prayers and Tears thinking the other unlawful to be used against their Sovereign or for Christ's sake whose Kingdom is not of this World nor are his Servants to fight for him as himself expresly affirms Joh. 18.36 So contrary to the Gospel and the holy Christian Martyrs is these pretended Protestants Practice and so is that passage in the solemn League and Covenant the Presbyterian Idol to which they would have all Hands lifted up and all Knees to bow we shall in like manner without respect of Persons endeavour the extirpation of Popery and Prelacy that is Church Government by Archbishops Bishops their Chancellours and Commissaries Deans Deans and Chapters Arch Deacons and all other Ecclesiastical Officers depending on that Hierarchy we shall also with all Faithfulness endeavour the discovery of all such as have been or shall be Malignants c. by hindring the Reformation of Religion c. or making any Parties c. amongst the People contrary to this League and Covenant that they be brought to publick Tryal and receive condign Punishment as the degree of their Offence shall require or deserve by which Clauses they are bound to destroy our Church Root and Branch and all others too that shall help us or hinder them in this reforming Work which any one would think could not be done without a bloody Persecution unless therefore John Bunyan and his Party renounce the solemn League and Covenant and their other Persecuting Oaths and Books and also all their violent and cruel Practises in this and other Countries let them not for shame complain of Persecution who have been and are themselves the great Accusers and grand Persecutors of their Brethren CHAP. V. OUR Author I suppose being sensible of the small success his railing against the Common Prayer may have to withdraw any rational Persons love from it or to raise his hatred thereof bethinks himself of better and stronger Arguments against it and endeavours to perswade the World that the holy Scriptures are on his side and do in several places manifestly condemn it which indeed would effectually do his Business if he could but prove this vainglorious Assertion but how well that is done we come next to examine for p. 35 36. Jo. Bunyan says The Common Prayer Book is a meer humane Invention and Institution which God is so far from owning of that he expresly forbids it with any other such like and that by manifold Sayings in his most holy and blessed Word and one of the Texts he quotes is Prov. 21.9 It is better to dwell in the corner of the House top than with a brawling Woman in a wide House which perhaps is a mistake of the Printer being nothing at all to his purpose but all the other Texts he produces being altogether as Impertinent and this a second Edition of the Discourse I am tempted to think this is no errour of the Press but what the Ignorant Author might imagine a good Proof of the unlawfulness of Forms of Prayer and as good Proof indeed it is as those that follow which he there inserts as Mark 7.7 8. In vain do they worship me teaching for Doctrines the Commandments of Men for laying aside the Commandment of God ye hold the Tradition of Men as the washing of Pots and Cups and many other such like things ye do where 't is plain our Saviour condemn'd the Hypocritical Scribes and Pharasees for preferring their vain Tradations of which they had a great many and particularly the Corban mentioned ver 11. before the Commandment of God i. e. they forbad Children to help their Parents when they were in want if they had either rashly made a Vow never to do it or had devoted their Substance to pious uses contrary to the Fifth Commandment which requires Children to relieve their Parents when they need it that being one way of honouring them and thus those Hypocritical Scribes and Pharasees were very curious in cleansing their Pots and Cups lest themselves should be polluted with any Legal uncleanness but yet they notoriously neglected those great Moral Duties which were plainly Commanded and also signified by them even the cleansing their Hearts and Lives from the filthiness of Sin as is evident from ver 20 21 22 23. and Luke 11.39 And the Lord said unto him Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the Cup and Platter but your inward part is full of Ravening and Wickedness But how does the Jewish Corban and their superstitious Washing of Pots and Cups conclude against the use of the Common Prayer Book Do we equal or prefer it to the Bible as the Pharisees did these things to the Commandments of God And what Commandment do we break in the use of the Common Prayer Book as they did