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	lord_n	word_n	2,731	5	3.9297	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12177	The Christians end. Or, The sweet soveraignty of Christ, over his members in life and death VVherein is contained the whole scope of the godly mans life, with divers rules, motives and incouragements, to live and die to Iesus Christ. Being the substance of five sermons preached to the honorable society of Grayes Inne, by that learned and faithfull minister of Gods Word, Richard Sibbes, D.D. and sometimes preacher to that honorable societie.	Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635.	1639 (1639)	STC 22485; ESTC S117259	45,936	138

look principally to that which is his last and best and mayn end which is GOD and Vnion and Communion with God in Christ who is God in our nature God-man the best of all and therfore it is fit hee should be the last Hee communicateth all good to them that be his and preserveth all the good he communicateth Hee is for ever with them and cannot faile to doe them good as long as hee fails not to be good Hee is the originall caus● and the communicating cause and the maynt●yning cause of all good Now it is the nature of the utmost and farthest end to stirre up to every action leading to that end for every deliberate rationall action that is done with advertisement and observation and is not an action of fancy or common nature must fall under the consideration of an end or else we cannot give account for it as wee must for every word desire and thought Now the end stirreth us up to all means leading to that end either immediatly as they are the services of God properly or else remotely As things that help reason and furtherances therunto as the Apostle willeth that whether wee eat or drink or whatsoever wee doe all should be done to the glory of God because these mayntayn us in health and strength and that health and strength inable us to Gods service And in this sence every action a Christian doth is a service of God for the end doth advance it and rayse it above it selfe and make it spirituall as recreation to cheere him to diligence in his calling the serving of his brother and the like Some actions are holy in the stuffe and matter of them others are such for the end to which they are directed for the meanest action becomes holy if an holy end be put upon it And therfore the actions of the second Table are the service of God as well as the first as they doe all agree in the end No man violateth a Magistrate in the second Table but he wrongeth God in the first No man stealeth or committeth adultery or disgraceth his neighbour by false witnesse which is prohibited in the second but it is for want of fear of God commanded in the first Duties of the second rightly performed are in vertue of the Commandements of the first When they are done not onely from humane and lower grounds as things good in themselves but also because God and Christ have commanded them and that is included in the generall words of living to the Lord for to live is comprehensive and includeth all our actions from the beginning to the end and closing up of our days Whatsoever actions fall within the term of life ought to be referr'd to God as the last end The Reason is Christ hath redeemed our persons and our times and all that we are or have or can do all our ability our whole posse is Christ's and not our own I must be fill'd up with actions sutable to Christ therefore if I could doe a thousand times more then I do it were all due to him my self my time my advantages my calling and all are his Againe as the end stirs up to actions of all kinds so it prescribeth a measure to those actions to doethem so farre as shall be advantagious to that end As hee that hath a race to runne will measure his dyet suitable to that end So hee that hath an ayme to live to Christ will use all things here as may serve that turne Hee will use the world as if he used it not will buy as if hee possessed not will marry as if hee married not Not that he will be slight or superficiall in these things But he will do them no further then may be advantagious to the enjoying of Christ here as comfortably as he can and for ever hereafter Indeed no man can set measures to his desire of happinesse that being a vast Ocean his mayn end cannot be desired too much For as it is his good and happines it is larger then himself yea his thoughts and desires are too short to reach it But though a man desires not health too much yet hee may desire too much physick The measure must be in our pursuite of inferiou● things because therin we are apt to exceed And that advantage a Christian hath in setting a right end Hee will not be drowned in the world nor live to recreations but to a farther ayme and which prescribes a measure and duration to all things else The end likewise maketh every thing that tendeth to the end lovely It maketh the Crosse lovely for by it we grow better and get more in large communion with Christ. Welcome is poverty or disgrace or whatsoever that maketh a man live more to Christ and die to himselfe Men call for Physick though in it self distastfull as it is in order to health an end which we desire without end So it is the disposition of a gracious soule it Christ bestow himself on him communicated his gracious spirit peace of conscience joy in the holy Ghost increase of the Image of God Let God lay upon us what he will yet it will appeare lovely It prescribeth likewise a right order to every duty for as the end sets one thing above another So a wiseman that looketh to his best end will doe the mayne work first and otherthings in the second place according to our Saviours counsell Seeke first seek the kingdome of God and his righteousnes and all other things shall be cast upon you Some indeed love to be all in by-works and in the mean time neglect and slight the mayn But our care should be so to use the world that we may not lose Christ or communion with him in better things So to look to things temporall as that wee lose not things eternall For as things are in themselves so they should be to us Now as some thing is better then another so wee should conceive of them and affect them as better then another and labour to do them before another as deserving the first place And that is the reason the Saints have so prized entertained communion with God Christ one thing I de●ire saith the Prophet That is to dwell in the house of the Lord for ever And one thing is necessary saith Christ other things be necessary in their order but to have communion with God is the mayn thing necessary Let us therefore often consider of the end of our life in this world And take shame to our selves that wee have let so much water run besides the Mill. That wee have let so much precious time and strength and dear advantages be lost too much strength hath beene spent in the service of sin and our base lusts which wee can give no account of How many scandalous blasphemous words are many guilty of which help onely to advantage their destruction if God be not mercifull Now

it is a phrase impor●ing a direction to a duty And likewise to confirme and comfort us in this that we do our duty VVee doe not serve a dead Master but one that taketh notice of us living and dying So to die to the Lord is to acknowledge Christ to be the Lord of life and the Lord of death of death as well as of life Hee hath the keyes of Hell and of Death and the disposing of both Therefore wee must resigne up our selves to him in death And then study to honour him by death in any kinde yea by Martyrdome if he shal cal us to seale the truth of Religion with bloud And then to acknowledge him to be owner of us and one that wil receive us dying As he took notice of us living And so the words are a privilege as well as a duty As it is sealed up in the last words Whether wee live or die wee are the Lords Thus I have unfolded the text Hee first promiseth the general negative No man liveth to himself no man dieth to himselfe You must apply this to Christians onely that are true Professors and members of Christ. For other men that are not in Christ have not the spirit of Christ they live to themselves and die to themselves and ayme at themselves in all things and therefore they are not the Lords Therfore it is a fearful condition to live and die to our selves Yet you have some kinde of men not onely in their particular persons but in their callings are all for themselves but why should I call it calling for there is no calling but it is for publike good As an Vsurer for whose good is he Let all sink or swim what careth hee so times hold and moneths and yeeres continue hee wil have his returns And such are they that live in a cours● of oppression that live by the ruine and spoyle of others But there is a more subtile living to a mans selfe as all men doe that have not the spirit of Christ they live within that circle selfe the Devil keepeth them that they goe not out of it so that s●lfe doth run through all their actions their civill a ions yea their religious actions which are all tainted with self-respects Ever since the fall it is so Man withdraweth himself from Gods government and setteth up himselfe instead of God thought to have a secured happines from God in eating the forbidden fruit and therfore would not depend upon God to be happy He saw another way to be like God God hath highest place in our heart by order of Creation and according to the degrees of excellency in things should our esteeme of them be every thing being beautifull in his place But where God is put down as he is in all men till they be in Christ something self-love sets up in the heart above God Hence commeth the necessity of this method of taking us off from our selves before wee can live to Christ because self-love is an impediment and blocke in the way betweene us and Christ heaven end happines And therfore Christ begins the Gospel with self-denial Whosoever will be my Disciple let him take up his Crosse and follow mee Now there be foure degrees of selfe There is 1. Naturall 2. Civill 3. Sinfull 4. Religious Selfe First naturall selfe is the state wee are in as men Secondly Civill as we are poor or rich or honourable according to our severall places in the Common-wealth Thirdly sinfull selfe is as we are carried to sinfull lusts and the Cr●ature Fourthly Religious self is our Condition in Christ when we are ingreaffed into him and made new Creatures Now we must not live to our selves First not to our naturall selfe VVe must not live onely to live For as all other Creatures are to serve us so wee are to serve something else that is better For that that is not of it selfe cannot be for it self Now we have not beings from our selves but from God he giveth us beings and a being in that ranke of Creatures wherin we are Therfore our naturall self must be to a higher end A man is not the end of things there is another end then he and that is God who is of himselfe hath made all other things for himselfe And therfore riches and honours and the like wee should not live to our civill selfe Nature teacheth us that having spirits we are not for any thing meaner then our selves We do not live here to be rich to be great to command others for these things do not answer the soule of man First Nothing that hath an end can be a chief end That that hath ●inem consummatum cannot be finis consummans That that hath an end consuming it self cānot be an end perfecting it self We have a journy beyond all things and that cannot be our end that leaveth us in the way Riches and honour are determined in death Let our preferments be never so great thogh to the Monarchy of the whole World yet we have a being beyond them They have consumptions in themselves And then they be inferiour No truth in them can fill up the understanding no good in them can fill up the will But the understanding can pierce through them And the will in rellishing and tasting the good of them can looke on them as cast commodities It can quickly suck out all the sweet that is in them Therfore they cannot be a mans end because hee hath larger parts then they can fill That that must be mans end must be larger then the soule and that wherin hee can rest it must be some universall good fit for all turns and purposes Now there is nothing in the VVorld that hath more then a particular service for mens particular service for mens particular ends Honour can doe something but not all things Riches cannot command health they cannot cure a fit of an ague they be for a particular good onely They can command many things but not al things Men consider what they can do therfore desire them But they consider not what they cannot do and therefore they rest in them That which is a mans last end must be a satisfying general universal good an immortal good of equal co●tinu●ance with hi● as nothing in the world is It must be such a good as hee cannot offend or be defiled with all Such as hee cannot misuse And what is there in the World but Christ and the best things but a man is prone to defile himselfe in Knowledge is the best thing but that worketh like leaven it swels as the Apostle saith Knowledge puffeth up Therfore wee must live to no worldly thing And much lesse must we live to sinfull selfe Some things are to be denied in way of competition and in opposition but somthings are to be denied absolutly Absolutely a man must not owne or live to a base lust pride or sensuality Hee ow●th nothing to these

a little to shew the guise of the world and the difference of it from the actions of Gods children for these words imploy a restraint to Gods people as well as an extension The Christians whole life is onely to Christ but what is the life of a man out of Christ His first aimes being corrupt God is not in all his thoughts as the Psalmist speakes neither to have communion with him here in grace nor in glory hereafter Therefore whatsoever good hee doth a false end poysoneth it If a man misunderstanding of a thing be from a false principle he misunderstands it grosly As if an house be built upon a weake foundation such is all the fabrick● though otherwise never so costly if the principles be naught the conclusions drawn from thence must needs be naught also As in Physick if the first concoction be naught the second can never be good So if a mans ends are nought if hee seek himself or doth things onely from forreigne motives out of terrour of conscience or for vain glory or to be seen of men his corrupt ayme spoyleth all his actions yea hee reduceth Religion to himselfe because he will enjoy his pleasures the better hee wil act some part of Religion lest conscience should bark and clamour against him This self will moderate Religion and restrain it to such a measure as may stand with his lusts and sinfull customes If he loveth others it is in order to himselfe because he hath use of them as they comply with him in wicked courses and so help to bear him out the better And if any man stands in the wayes of his ends of honour or riches he removeth them by disgrace though it amounteth to slandering as undermyning and rising by others ruines because selfe his Idoll and mayn end must not be crossed He desireth to be some body in the flesh all things must be measured by that yea Religion and acquaintaince and all and whatsoever stands in the way it cryeth downe with them but however it killeth them in the esteeme of others that they themselves might be thought something and thus all is turned cleane contrary upside down But a gracious mans end and ayme is to get out of himselfe and his corrupt nature and to order all his actions in reference to that and all his acquaintance and communion with others as may help his communion with God And whatsoever is an impediment to that he laboureth to remove But to give you some directions how to live not to our selves but to live and die to the Lord. First we must have a spirituall life from him for life is but the issue of life We must live by faith from union with Christ by faith and then live to Christ. And againe wee must do it constantly and uniformly no part of our lives must be alienated from Christ all must be done in order to him even our recreations must have some good aymes in them Now do but consider wee are his wee are not our own but his and therfore wee ought to live to him bringing in all our strength all our advantages our callings that we may do service to him in our places wee are redeemed even from our selves A world of people thinke they be redeemed to live as they list But because God is mercifull and Christ a Saviour may you therfore live like libertines No you are redeemed from your selves not to your selves And to former rules delivered let me adde that this living to Christ though naturally we count it bondage because it is the acknowledging of a superiour is the most perfect liberty Deo servire est regnare For he that serveth that which is better and larger then himselfe that hath more goodnesse and ability then himselfe hee doth advance himselfe by his service and freeth himselfe from the service of all inferiours For the more dependant any man is on CHRIST in his service and in expectation of reward from him the more independant is hee upon the VVorld And indeed who is free in his thoughts and desires from base ingagements to the creature but hee that sets up Christ highest in his soule And suffers him to prescribe rules to him in his life which is freer in the world then they that have hearts freed from overmuch love of earthly things overmuch feare of earthly things overmuch delight in earthly things Hee useth them as helps to the mayne but is not ingaged or inthralled to any Quanto subjectior tanto liberior The more subject the more free is Saint Augustines rule And it is undoubtedly so you shal finde by experience that the soul is never at a more gracious liberty then when Christ is all in all Wee see it in the example of Zacheus when once he believed in Christ presently Halfe my goods I give to the poore Saint Paul that was all for the world and vain glory can say now My life is not deare to me so I may finish my course with joy In comparison of Christ all is dounge VVhen Moses had seen God that was invisible hee was freed from all base dependance on the favour of Pharaob nay he esteemed the reproches of Christ better then all the riches of Egypt And that makes mens stomacks inwardly to rise against Christians because they be not men to serve times and turns they will not prostitute their consciences and Religion for any mans pleasure wheras other men though naturally never so stout and strong in parts yet having base aymes and hearts fastned to the world will debase their very natures And when their end commeth in competition with honesty they love it more then goodnes As Christ telleth the Pharisies You cannot believe that seek honour one of another This is it that maketh a Christian better then his neighbour because he hath a better ayme All other men have narrow spirits whose hearts are not filled with the inlarging spirit of grace and of Christ. But the course of the Children of God is a course contrary to the streame of the VVorld Let others take what course they will it matters not they will looke to themselves It is good for them to draw neer to God and to be guided by his spirit A Christian seeks communion with him that is all in all with an infinite good with God in Christ and Christ God Man and happinesse Another man is straightned in his affections to some particular good that is meaner then himselfe which mamaketh him a base spirited man Hee that inlargeth his heart to seek out a condition that is larger and better then himselfe is both wise and happy One would require no more to Christianity but to have sanctified judgements that God is God and Christ is Christ and the Word is the Word ●nd rules that cannot be denyed are true unlesse hee will be an atheisticall beast below himselfe And therefore Lactantius saith well Religion is the true wisdome Let a man be judicious

they bee not Christs they are the Divels Our thoughts are not our owne but all should bee dedicated to Christ. Therefore wee should bee content that Christ should set up a regiment in our soules that hee may rule our thoughts ●desires our language and members that they may be all weapons of righteousnesse Wee have nothing our owne much lesse ●inne from which we are redeemed And not onely from grosse sinnes but from such conversations as are vaine in themselves and will be vaine to thee And when wee are redeemed from sin and from vaine conversations we are redeemed from our selves from the world from the Divell whom now hath a man to serve none but this Lord. Wee have renounced all other in Baptisme and we are revolters and rebels and renounce out covenant in baptisme if we renounce not the world and the lusts of it in our lives Our selves we must not serve for we are redeemed from our selves and not onely from our carnall selves but naturall selves Christ is Lord of our natures And a Christian ought to say Lord of thee I had this body of thee I had this life of mine these goods of mine this credit of mine this reputation and place in the world As I had all from thee so I returne all to thee againe And as we are not our owne we must not bee other mens we are not servants of men as the Apostle sayth wee must not take upon trust the opinions that others would put upon us or what wee list our selves in religion wee must not have mens pesons in admiration for advantage we must not Idol●ze any creature for as we are not our owne so we are not any others but we are the Lords The happinesse of a Christian is to bee independent on the creatures hee may use them as subordinate helpes but hee is to depend onely on this Lord what to believe what to speake and not to take up this or that opinion to please this or that man thereby to rise to greatnesse It is a base thing to say I believe as my pa●ents believe are you your parents your parents are the servants of this great Lord whose you are and to whom it is your dutie to yeeld your selves And therefore in sollicitation to any sin make that use of it that the holy Apostle doth in that grosse sin that reignes ●o m●ch in the world and brings many to h●ll Defile●ent of body Saith hee Our bodies are bought with a price And shall I take the members of Christ and make them members of an 〈◊〉 So when wee are tempted by corruption and Satan joyning with it reason thus Shall I de●●le this body of mine my body is not mi●e it is th● Lords my members are not mine they bee dedicated and consecrated to him What should such base abhominable 〈…〉 to Christ I am his my thoughts his my desires should bee his Let those that bee given to swea●ing and blasphe●ing a●d idle ●alke consider that their tongues are not their owne and yet for whom doe they imploy their tongues as an instrument but for Sa●●● So when wee come to dye make use of it not onely for comfort but for duty We are Christs and therefore if hee doth call us by any kinde of death if hee sends for us by a bloudy death goe to Christ that way because he is Lord and disposeth of whatsoever befalleth us and determineth by what death wee shall glorifie him Bee of Saint Pauls resolution to glorifie God both living dying He knew God should be glorified by his death as well as by his life So wee may glorifie Christ by any death bee content to yeeld our selves any kind of way to him There bee two vertues wee ought specially to exercise in the houre of death Assurance of faith that wee are Christs And a resignation to his will that in faith and in obedience wee may commit our selves to him as to a faithfull Creatour and Redeemer This is our dutie And it is no easie a matter to do this Many bequeath themselves to God but alas they have alienated themselves before to the world They have given their bodies to wine to women as the Scripture phrase is Or they have given their spirits to the world As wee use to say in our common speech of some men They are given to the world But when they have given their strength to the flesh before and doe at time of death bequeath their spirits to the Lord will hee owne them Alas they are alienated before and so put out of their owne disposing And therefore ordinarily unlesse the Lord worke a miracle it is impossible to dye in the Lord● If a man have not lived to the Lord before which may teach us to give our selves really to him in our life time that our lives being a service to Christ wee may comfortably die to him and have our soules to dispose of The like subjection must bee shewed in all conditions whatsoever If God will have mee to honour him in a meane calling I am not mine owne I am his my life and all my condition of life are onely to him My calling my estate it may bee is low that my pride may bee humbled But God hath set mee in my calling he will have mee to honour him in it In the meanest calling a man shall have enough to give an account of and therfore there is no reason to be ashamed of our calling I am the Lords in my life in all the passages of it in my calling in all the troubles of it I am to looke for support and protection and provision and direction from God I am here by his appointment And therefore he that hath set me in this place will provide for me protect me guide mee by his Spirit what to doe in my place And so it is a ground of contentation in all conditions You see then there is great reason why wee should not live to our selves but to the Lord that wee should not dye to our selves but to the Lord. For it is a great comfort a speciall duty and therfore in a word We cannot have a more comfortable experiment in all divine truths than this That God in Christ hath passed over himselfe to be ours and wee have passed over our selves to him i● wee have grace to doe i● And then to plead and improve it when it is done there is not a comfort of greater comprehension and therefore the Apostle dwelleth on the poynt No man liveth to himselfe no man dyeth to ●●●selfe but we live to the Lord and dye to the Lord. To what end is all this but that we should settle it as a bottome ground of comfort and contentment and happinesse that wee are not our owne but the Lords Think therefore of this one thing that wee are his that hath a command in heaven and earth to whom all knees bow with subjection his