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	lord_n	time_n	5,344	5	4.0909	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29341	The Christian sacrament and sacrifice by way of discourse, meditation, & prayer upon the nature, parts, and blessings of the holy communion / by Dan. Brevint.	Brevint, Daniel, 1616-1695.	1673 (1673)	Wing B4417; ESTC R23806	53,735	149

be we have made either at our repenting of some sin or at our deliverance from some eminent danger or at the recovery out of some greivous sickness or at the receiving some other signal mercy whether for our selves or for our friends I will go into thy house with burnt offerings I will pay thee my vows which my lips have uttered and my mouth hath spoken when I was in trouble Psal 67.13.14 Then and there at the Altar of God must we both discharge all the vows which for some hindrance or other we had not yet the Convenience to fulfil and set afresh from Communion to communion as they did the Shew-loaves from Sabbath to Sabbath all those other Performances which by their nature and our duty can never be fulfilled but with the very end of our daies 8. So shall the new Israel tread on the pious steps of the Old who ever from time to time reiterated either in Mispah or in Gilgal c. that Covenant which the Lord had made with him in Sinai It is true the Lord did not then again repeat the Thunder that once made the Mountains tremble as in our Churches he doth not reiterate that very Passion that made the powers of Heaven mourn and shake Nevertheless as Josuah Asa Josias Jehojadah and other such holy men could from their Master assure the People that the Covenant which they did renew for example in Shechem Jos 24.25 2 Chr. 15.12 and 23.16 was not less powerful either to bless the observers or to destroy the offenders thereof then it was when Moses and the Holy Angels publisht it at the first upon Sinai So now the Ministers of our Lord Jesus Christ having in their hands the sacraments of the Gospel true Seals and Tables of the new Law may both produce and give them out as Evidences that the sacrifice of their Master is not less able to save mens Souls when it is offered to men and Sacramentally offered again to God at the holy Communion then when it was newly offered upon the Cross And this is the reason wherefore all faithful Christians ought then as effectually to reinforce all their Oblations their vows their Contritions and their protestations Men and Brethren what shall we do And God forbid that I should ever glory but in the Cross of my Savior as the Israelites did by protesting upon the like occasions We will obey the Lord our God and the Lord is the God the Lord is the God 1 King 18.39 both Israelites and Christians seconding their Protestation of obedience and their prostrations of Body and resignations of their minds with secondary sacrifices those of Bulls and Rams these of Alms and Pious works 9. By this it is easie to see that our holy Eucharistical Communions are much correspondent to those Feasts that did call the People of Israel together first to appear and prostrate themselves before the Lord with sacrifices for their sin and then to lay upon the Altar that other kind of Sacrifices which they used to call * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Peace offerings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Peace Offerings and which were ordained to express both their thankfulness to God and their Charity to men And in this friendly concurrence both of Mysteries and of holy duties that attend them all respects duly observed Moses may still with the same power command both new and old Israel thou shalt keep the feast unto the Lord thy God with a Tribute of a free will offering of thine hand which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee And thou shalt rejoyce before the Lord thy God thou and thy Son and thy Daughter the Levite the stranger the Fatherless and the Widdow And you shall not appear before the Lord emty Every man shall give according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee Deut. 16.10 11. 19. The first Christians ever took it and constantly practised it so For whensoever they met at their devotions whereof the Holy Communion was the most ordinary and the most essential part they did make the use of all their Goods to be common among themselves and the distribution of this blessed Sacrament was so constantly attended by the distribution of their Offerings that it is somewhat hard to discern which of the two the Apostolical History intends to signify by the Breaking of bread so often mentioned in the Acts. Some pious and learned men have thought that this largeness and frequency of Offerings which in the primitive times was all the stock they had for pious uses made that Article which immediatly follows that of the Church that is the Communion or Communication of the Saints But however tho this were not the Article of faith there meant yet it was an Act of Piety so frequent and so essential in those daies that St. Luke would place it amongst those other sacred functions that comprehend the whole duty and service of the Church They continued stedfastly in the Doctrine of the Apostles and in the Communion and in breaking of bread and in prayer Act. 2.24 Thus were the primitive Christians literally and punctually such as holy David had prophesied they should be a People that would come and offer themselves with their free will offerings to Christ in the Day of his Power and of that glorious effusion of Graces that like to a Celestial dew would appear wonderful by a thick and sudden producing of subjects and souldiers ready armed for his service Psal 110. 11. For this purpose it was that the Bishops had in their Churches two Tables One of them was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. within that space where the Ministers did officiate at the Altar and where were Curtins purposely shut to keep non-Communicants from the sight of and access to the Holy Mysteries The other was where the People could freely come to offer their Gifts part whereof afterwards was brought by the Deacons to the Communion Table Hither were brought the Free will Offerings of the People Bread Wine Oil Wooll sometimes Cloth Silver and any thing els that might be useful to the Church till by express Canons of the Church * Can. 37. Afric those Oblations in kind were limited to such things only as could be emploied about the sacraments and service of the Church and all this was offered up to God by all Christians by way of a daily Sacrifice And when the Christians had offered up to God their Goods the Priest who did receive them did solemnly pray to God that he would be pleased to look on their Oblations as he did once on them of Abel of Noah and of Abraham Out of these Oblations the Elements of the holy Communion were taken forth and presented at the other Table where they were blest by the Bishop or Priest and distributed by him to the People as from God to assure them he had accepted of both their persons

all that it shall be dedicated to the Glory of God and that it shall be surrendred into his hands employed to such uses upon such occasions and times as he will be pleased to appoint 4. Hear then my son as saies the wise man look to they feet when thou entrest into the house of God lest thou offer the Sacrifice of fools Eccles 5.6 It is the Sacrifice as well as the part of a fool to offer the Person without the Goods that attend it as it were the bones without the sinewes and the flesh that cover them It is the same Act of an Impious wretch to mangle and to mutilate either the holy Sacrifice which Jesus hath made to his father or the holy Sacrament which he hath ordained to his Church or that holy Oblation which after his Sacrifice and at his Sacrament he is pleased to require of us And after we have presented it it is an Act not only of great Impiety but of as great a Sacriledg as was that of Ananias to withdraw without leave any part of that Whole which we have devoted to Gods Service 5. It behoves not Israel alone to go forth out of Egypt with all their Children and Cattle and Goods to offer them unto the Lord that he may take either all or such a part as he will be pleased to chuse Exod. 10.25 26. All the Gentiles were likewise to go and give themselves up to Gods service with their Gold their Silver their Dromedaries and their Chariots loden with their cheifest substance The Egyptians with all their wealth Tyre and Sidon with their Merchandise Esay 23.18 and 60.6 7 9. The wise men with their Frankincense their Myrrh and their Gold and so every sinner at his Conversion to God was to consecrate all to Jesus Christ and to the service of his Church From that very moment that by any reall Act of conversion of faith of repentance or of vow we have given up our selves to Christ who hath likewise given himself for us as by virtue of this mutual Communion all what he possesses becomes ours namely his Grace his Immortality his Glory and so he bestowes it upon us according to the times and degrees which he sees best for our Salvation by the same consequence all whatsoever we have doth become his so that he may take it after in what proportion and season soever he shall see best for his Glory The two Asses which he sent for by his disciples that he might ride on them to Jerusalem and the Chamber which he commanded to be ready that he might eat the Passover in it were not so absolutely his as are our lives our Goods c. whensoever the Lord hath need of them Matt. 21.2 3. Luk. 22.11 Those things were his only by the Right of propriety which as to a Soveraign Lord and God is naturally reserved upon any thing which he creates or saves but these are his besides because we with our selves have given them When he calls for the former to deny them were injustice but to deny these latter were a visible Sacriledg all what we are what we can do and what we can give even to the least vessel in our houses being involved and made holy in this one Consecration In that day shall there be upon the very Bridles of the Horses holiness unto the Lord and every pot in Jerusalem and Juda shall be holy unto the Lord. Zechar. 14.20 21. 6. This Consecration whereby the worshipper offers and resigns up all himself and all his Concernments to God if it be well don and duly performed is first as for our Souls and Bodies a Christian Apotheosis if I may use this word which both makes them capable of the Sacrifice and grace of Christ and raises and prefers them to the very nature that is the Condition of holiness and Immortality of God Secondly as to the Consecrated things it is a miraculous priviledg which in the end infinitly multiplies every thing which is thus parted with it blesses the use of it altho it be but presented as long as we can enjoy it and finally exchanges it when we can enjoy it no more for such advantagious returnes as may be conceived to be not such as when water was turned into Wine or dirt into Gold but such as if we conceive a glass of water turned into streams of Everlasting Comsorts the dust of Israel into so many stars of Heaven small Cottages of Clay into Royal Palaces and vain declining shadows into real and Eternal possessions Thou hast bin faithful in a few things I will make thee Ruler over many things c. Matth. 25.21 But if the Law of these Consecrations be not well performed if Levi come to serve Ashtaroth after he hath dedicated himself to God and if the Offerings of the People be employed to profane uses after they have toucht Gods Altar then there are as many and as heavy Curses to be lookt for as on the other side upon a better use there are many and great Blessings to be expected So that upon all considerations both of prudence and of Duty first we must give up all to God next after we have given we must fly all not only as two most odious sins but also as two most terrible mischeifs the Sacriledg in withdrawing at any time when God demands it what hath bin thus consecrated to him and the Profaneness in mispending upon superfluous or worse uses what of it he is pleased to allow to our proper necessities and other lawfull Conveniencies 7. Now tho Christ our blessed Savior by that everlasting and ever same Sacrifice of himself offer himself virtually upon all occasions and we on our side also offer our selves and what is ours with him several other waies besides that of the holy Communion as at our Conversion and first Act of faith in him Christ saies St. Austin a Aug. Evang. Quest l. 2. q. 33. is sacrificed for the salvation of every sinner at the very moment he repents and beleives him to have bin Sacrificed and at our Baptism For every one offers the Sacrifice of the Passion of the Lord at that time that he is consecrated by the faith of this Passion and baptised a Christian saith the same father b August Expos incheat ad Rom. and the Baptism of Christ is the blood of Christ saith another c Chr●s Hom. 10. Heir Nevertheless because Christ offers himself for us at the holy Communion in a more solemn and public sacramental way thence it comes that the Memorial of the sacrifice of Christ thereby celebrated takes commonly the Name of the Sacrifice it self as St. Austin d Aug. de Civ c. 5. id ●p 23. ad Bonis ●e Consert Disp 2 hoc ●st explains it often we are then obliged in a more special manner to renew all our Sacrifices all the vows of our Baptism all the first fruits of our Conversion and all the particular promises which it may