Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	good_a	grace_n	work_n	2,630	5	5.5140	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A34183	Episcopalia, or, Letters of the Right Reverend Father in God, Henry, Lord Bishop of London, to the clergy of his diocess	Compton, Henry, 1632-1713.	1686 (1686)	Wing C5666; ESTC R4911	21,581	113

this Reason not only see that we our selves but be carefull that others do not offend those that in a special manner belong to us We must drive away all erroneous Doctrines and avoid disorderly Walkers We must drive away the bold Wolves the little Foxes and all Beasts of Prey as we will otherwise answer for the care committed unto us If any come upon us or go out from among us and discover the Savageness of their natures by not being content to forsake and renounce Order themselves but teach and encourage men so to do these are Beasts of Prey And it is one of the great advantages God has bestowed upon us in that promise to his Church Isa. 49 23. Kings shall be thy nursing Fathers and Queens thy nursing Mothers That all offensive and disorderly Walkers may by their Protection and coercive Power either be reduc'd or secur'd from harming of us For there is no pretence of Persecution in this no more than if a Man should so call a just Conviction for an Action of Battery B●cause he is Self-condemned Tit. 3. 11. and is not punished for his Opinion but for his disorderly acting upon that Opinion Such was Diotrephes who loved to have the preheminence 3 Joh. 9 10. And if you should pass over the Deeds which such Men do you would be the Betrayers and Murderers of your Flocks Like the Hireling who-fleeth or sitteth still when he sees the Wolf coming Joh. 10. 13. There is another sort of disorderly Walkers who still keep amongst us of whom I may say in the Apostles Words I have told you before and now tell you even Weeping that by a base compliance and a servile Aw of the most Blameworthy of their Flock they discover so cowardly a temper and unsutable to that Christian courage which should place them above the fear of Men that they become the Enemies of the Cross of Christ. Such Men should not be suffered to herd with us but ought to be avoided as infectious Creatures Mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the Doctrine which ye learnt and avoid them Rom. 16. 17. Such Wretches lye under a complication of diseases being disobedient through omission of their Duty Traitors in not Faithfully discharging the trust committed to them disorderly in not Walking according to the Rule perjur'd in breaking their Oath of Canonical obedience and that of Supremacy injurious to their Brethren and the whole Church by cherishing the unruly expectations of the People and are so many ways Unfaithful that had they any sence of Religion the consequent words of St. Paul must needs make them asham'd and confounded For they that are such serve not the Lord Iesus Christ but their own Belly 18. Or as it is in another place Whose end is destruction whose God is their Belly and whose Glory is in their shame who mind Earthly things Phil. 3. 19 In short do but mark the careful admonition against all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or disorder in the Church Warn them that are unruly 1 Thes. 5. 14. Now we command you Brethren in the name of our Lord Iesus Christ that ye withdraw you selves from every Brother that walks disorderly 2 Thes. 3. 6. And then observe with what pleasure that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or good order is mentioned For I though absent in the Flesh yet am with you in the Spirit joying and beholding 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 your order Col. 2. 5. This word should be written in the Forehead as well as Heart of every Christian but especially of the Clergy as Pilate's Inscription upon the Cross in Hebrew Greek and Latine that from East to West and throughout the World the Glory of our Christian consent might be understood You may remember upon the recommending a Hearty Serious pronunciation of the Divine Service it was thought very adviseable and reasonable to forbear long and expatiating Prayers before Sermon Lest either we should be thought our selves to esteem the Publick Offices deficient or give Occasion to others to be of that Opinion Upon which Occasion was mention'd Mr. Seymours little Treatise of Publick set Forms of Prayer Then likewise were recommended for your People to read Mr Allen's little Books viz. A Persuasive to Peace and Unity A Serious and Friendly Address to the Nonconformists The danger of Enthusiasm And I shall now add his Book call'd Catholicism As also Mr. Lamb's two Books viz. A stop to the Course of Separation And a fresh suit against Independency And this I did not only for their brevity bu● because they are written by Laymen And such whose expressions are so fair and their integrity and manner of living so well known in in the City That it were impossible to propose more unexceptionable either as to the Style or Authors I then wished you as I still do to Read the Canons to your Congregation once a year as it is ordered in the Kings confirmation of them And that such Acts or Proclamations as have been appointed to be Read upon the thirtyeth of Ianuary the nine and twentieth of May and fifth of November might be for the future observed The urging necessity of Persecution forceth Men into order But in times of Prosperity there is great danger of falling asleep Especially in ours where the corruption of the Age makes unruliness pass for a virtue And yet the Censorious humour which it produces is a strong motive on the other hand where any sparks of Wisdom or common prudence remain to observe a very strict and close Order in our own Defence Take away then the Glory of ordaining Rules by that which is of infinitely more value the observation of them And let not the great and painful care of the Fathers of the Primitive Church both by Private endeavors and in Councels rise up in Judgment against us for destroying that Discipline by disorder and neglect which at the peril of their Lives many times they upheld for the preservation of Christs Body which is the Church I pray God strengthen your Heart with a courage suitable for the times we live in and every way enable you to answer the just expectations of Your Affectionate Friend and Brother H. London Fulham April 6. 1683 THE LORD BISHOP OF LONDON'S FIFTH LETTER TO THE Clergy of his Diocess 1684. Good Brother THE Care and Diligence which the perverseness of this World does exact of us to keep the Flock of Christ in any tolerable good order is so incessant as well as great That all occasions of incitement to our Duty are but too little for the mightiness of the Work Yet still there is a blessing goes along with honest endeavours and God will not require more of us than what we can do by the measure of that grace and success he gives us That part of your Duty which I shall now insist upon is Canon CXVIII I did not pitch upon this Canon for the Subject of our last conference with an intent to

least in some measure have relation to these Words Ye were sealed by that Holy Spirit of Promise Eph. 1. 13. 3. The universal and constant acknowledgment and practice of the Churches of God in all Ages as a consequent Rite after the Sacrament of Baptism must needs put it beyond dispute with men of tolerable modesty Tertul. de Praescript adversus Her cap. 36. is very express in the benefit as well as usage of it Cyril Optatus Aug. Irenaeus Eusebius Theodoret and many others put it beyond dispute What if S. H●erome says it was in bonorem Sacerdot●i He does not say that as the whole end of the Institution but why it was appropriated to the Bishop That Myron or Chrisma was used early in the Church must be acknowledged but it is as true that she never used it otherwise than a bare Ceremony whatever the modern conceits of Rome in prosecution of her superstitious methods have arrogated to the usage of it As the constant and due observation of this Rite has been ever carefully pursued under the best times and as for many other reasons so particularly to avoid the almost impracticableness of it repetition in this Point has ever been forbidden so has our Church amongst other good Provisions out of its great and wise care so ordered the execution of it that without great inadvertency and carelesness it can neither be omitted repeated nor miss of the best ends it could be improv'd to And this you may easily perceive from the Directions given to the several Persons concerned in it As 1. To the Bishop who is obliged by the sixtieth Canon to make it one of his special cares to confirm all that shall be disposed for it 2. Every Minister within his Cure is so to prepare the Youth by Catechizing and other good Instructions as that they may be able duly to present them to the Bishop whenever he calls upon them And for your better Direction pray consider well the last words that you say at the end of the Office of publick Baptism but especially the third and fourth Rubrick at the end of the short Catechism and Can. 61. 3. As it is the solemn admittance of all men into the Communion of our Church by their then taking upon themselves their Baptismal Vow so it is ordained that none shall be admitted to the Holy Communion until he be confirmed or be ready and desirous to be confirmed As you have it in the Rubrick at the end of Confirmation And for that purpose in the Rubrick of Baptism for those of riper years such are admonished to take the first convenience of being confirm'd that so they may be admitted to the Holy Communion Visitation of the Sick THis is an Office that certainly carries in it not only the most grateful performances to the nature of mankind but the most suitable to the dispensation of the Gospel and him that Preached it All the highest Acts of Compassion are contained in it For if we take it in its just Latitude it has regard to the sick in mind as well as body to those that are destitute or distressed any way In the prosecution of this duty we ought to take our Blessed Saviour's Example who did not stay till he was called neither remained in Heave ntill the World should become worthy to receive him but came unsought for and unwelcome to a World that preferred Darkness before Light that hated him whilst by the utmost practices of its malice upon him he brought Salvation to it Therefore nothing less than an absolute impossibility should discourage us from performing this Duty It is true The visiting of the sick seems to be injoyned as a Christian Duty upon all that will obey the truth but if all are obliged to it as no doubt they are it does not hinder that there may not lie a greater obligation upon some than others They to whom especially the Cure of a particular number of Souls is committed are doubtless under a higher obligation to take care of those Souls than the rest of Christians and they that are sent and have thereby a power of administring the greatest comfort are more nearly concerned than others besides that our Calling and the Dispensations that belong to it are for the good of Christ's Body which is the Church But to take this Subject in the narrowest sense in respect of those that are sick can there be a greater Charity than to help our Neighbour when he is not able to help himself Can there be a more pressing occasion than at a time that may prove the last opportunity of our Brother's receiving any good at our hands Can there be a time more hopeful to bring men to a just sense of their duty and the folly of their sins than when all passions are quieted and the hopes of enjoyment mortified Can any thing get us a better name and esteem amongst men and by consequence gain a greater interest and power to do good upon them than to endeavour to help those that are least able to help themselves and extend our care and charitable attendance to the last breath The sixty seventh Canon gives a full direction how to behave our selves in this point and the Office contains as much as the nature of the thing would allow of For there are so many various cases may happen from the different operations of Diseases and disquietness of mind that it were impossible to provide for all accidents Therefore the Canon allows the use of discretion where the case requires it That which constantly will need our consideration is the dispensing the several parts of this Office For sometimes Prayers are only required sometimes the Communion sometimes Absolution Now for the discouraging of the sick person if it should please God to restore him to his health again and for a warning to others the two last should not be administred without strong tokens of Repentance if he has been a careless liver and some earnest importunities on the sick man's side and a reluctancy and difficulty on ours But you will say If a Person be Excommunicated how shall I discharge this duty to him so far as to make him capable of Christian Burial The sixty eighth Canon plainly directs you in all but one case when it says Christian Burial shall not be refused except the party deceased were denounced excommunicated majori excommunicatione for some grievous and notorious Crime No doubt then spiritual comfort cannot be refused to such as Christian Burial is allowed But even in this case of the greatest Excommunion I make no question but at the hour of Death if the person seem heartily to desire reconciliation and to be sinking under the burden of despair Absolution may be administred to him which will have its effect in foro interno according to God's acceptance and his own sincerity tho the sentence fori externi be not thereby released For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost