Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	hear_v	heart_n	pray_v	1,932	5	5.7672	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15010	The oyle of gladnesse. Or, Comfort for dejected sinners First preached in the parish church of Banbury in certaine sermons, and now published in this present treatise. By William Whately minister there.	Whately, William, 1583-1639.	1637 (1637)	STC 25314; ESTC S100737	35,116	224

at comfort but is a desperate forlorne and uncomfortable griefe For in grieving for our sinnes we give God the glory of his justice acknowledging them to be vile and loathsome and grievous But in comforting our selves we give him the glory of his mercy acknowledging him to be more full of goodnesse then our selves bee of badnesse which is to doe him the highest honour For the Lord delighteth in shewing mercy and therefore cannot but delight that men should esteeme and account him so ready to shew mercy For whosoever loveth to doe any good and commendable thing loves to bee accounted ready and able to do that thing And indeed God is not well pleased nor honoured as I said before with his Saints teares further then those teares bee meanes of fitting them for and making them capeable of comfort As the Chyrurgion delighteth not in the smart of his patient further then it is a meanes of healing the sore nor the Physitian in the bitter potions of his patient or his sicknesse further then it procureth health Therfore if we consider in the old Law Deut. 16.14 he calleth vpon them to bee sure that they doe rejoyce in their feasts And whereas he appointed one only solemne fast throughout the yeare Levit. 26.19 and that but one daies continuance alone he appointed three severall most solemne feasts in every yeare and those also of seaven daies continuance each of them Exod. 23 14. Whereby it is manifest that hee takes farre more content in their gladnesse and solace then in their ruth and lamentation For indeed hee liketh their griefes alone as I said before as a preparative to their Joy Now seeing our care must be to doe that that may glorifie and please God and our joyes will glorifie and please him after wee have beene humbled as well as our humiliation before it is needfull for us to cheare up our hearts as well as to depresse them § 5. Thirdly this comfort is a thing altogether as profitable to our selves and as much availeable to our sanctification and good living as griefe nay griefe will doe at all no good to the working of holinesse and beating downe of sinne further then it is so ordered and moderated that it may conclude in consolation As a man is fittest to doe any naturall work when he hath his limmes all at ease and rest so to do any spirituall good thing when he hath his minde at ease and rest Nehem. 8.10 The joy of the Lord is your strength saith that holy man to the people in Nehemiah which is the cause that God hath confirmed his promise by oath that as the Apostle saith Heb. 6.18 wee might have strong consolation The herbs and grasse and corne doe ripen best in warme and fun-shine weather so the sun-shine of consolation doth bring up the herbe of vertues in our hearts Carnall and earthly joyes doe nothing further the growth of piety but spirituall consolations such as this we intreate of doe make it prosper and flourish exceedingly Never is a Christian man in better case to doe any good duty to beare any misery for Gods sake to love God to pray to heare the Word to doe works of mercy to the afflicted or to performe any other services then when he can comfort himselfe in God Then the heart hath more full communion with God and therfore is in best plight to doe any thing well I confesse sorrow hath its use it is as plowing and as breaking of the clods that make the ground ready for the seed It is as it were the sweeping and cleansing of the house that maketh it fit for the Holy Ghost as for aguest to inhabit and to dwell in But the very proper confirmer and strengthener of the soule is comfort that doth minister to it ability to worke Gods works As God loves in matter of bounty a cheerefull giver so in all services a cheerefull servant And doubtlesse the service will not be cheerefull if the heart be not comforted therefore in heaven where God hath the best services men have the most comfort And in Paradice where God had the best service next to heaven man had the most comfort And in the Thessalonians 1 Thess 1 3 6. in whom Saint Paul did commend the labour of love the worke of faith the patience of hope and whom he praiseth because their love and their faith did grow exceedingly hee shewes the foundation of this growth to have beene because they received the Word with joy in the Holy Ghost Seeing well-grounded comfort is the most profitable thing that can be for our soules we must strive for it § 6. Onely brethren you must remember how we limited the point viz. that after we have humbled our selves we must then take comfort and not before There is a time saith Salomon to mourne and a time to laugh we must take time to rend our hearts and to turne to the Lord with mourning and contrition and then we must take time also to stirre up and to revive our hearts and to embrace the Lords mercies with all joyfullnesse we must beware of making too much hast to comfort our selves as also of being too slow to the worke If the sore bee not throughly drawne before it be healed then the festered matter will breake out againe and the cure will not be well effected and if it be not healed after drawing no soundnesse will come to the member affected As the body so the soule must be healed soundly and to the bottome and not skinned over with untimely and preposterous and ungrounded consoations I pray you to observe this caution and this limitation that none of you may abuse and misapply the point to your owne hurt for nothing is more dangerous then false comfort Of the twaine it is much more safe though it seeme far more troublesome to be too much and too long in mourning then to fetch in comfort before we have at all mourned or before we have mourned in due measure for to comfort ones selfe untimely is to trust in a lie and is the surest way to cut off all sound and good comfort and to keepe a mans selfe uncapable of true comfort Thus daubing with untempered morter will never make any good worke downe will that daubing come in the day when the storme and winde shall blow upon it § 7. If any man aske how he shall be sure not to take comfort too soone I answer him That he must not bee bold to take any comfort till he have gotten such a measure of sorrow and let sorrow continue so long in his heart that it hath wrought him to a plaine and free and full confession of his sins to God and to a firme and stedfast purpose and determination of will to leave forsake and abandon them And when he hath brought himselfe to this then must hee mixe his sorrow with some comfort and after a while he must bid his griefes adew and

feed constantly and principally upon comforts renewing his griefes at fit times and seasons as it were dipping in some sharpe sauce to keepe him from surfeting alwaies retaining an humbled heart in the sight of sinne but not alwaies a sad heart for as the heart may be sad and not humbled so it may bee humbled and not sad CHAP. III. Vse 1 BVt now for Vse of the point § 1. First it gives cause of a gentle reprehension to many of Gods servants that keepe on their garments of sorrow too long and still feed on wormewood and gall almost refusing to bee comforted then when comfort is due to them Though they have searched their hearts and confessed their sinnes and brought their hearts to a full purpose of amendment yet they faile in that they doe not take some measure of comfort to themselves and doe not partake of the consolations of God which he offers to them in his holy Word There are some that make too much haste to comfort themselves and some that doe not make hast enough The Commoner and the greater fault is to put away sorrowes too soone yet that of putting away comfort too farre and too long from the soule is a fault also and must not be denied where it is Many of Gods people I say are excessive in their mourning even for their sinnes in that when they have true right to comfort and God doth speake peace unto them yet they doe not give rest and peace unto their owne soules but surfit upon wormewood and bitternesse and thrust comfort away from themselves through unbeliefe Somtimes men mourne too much and too long for crosses that point doth not now come to bee handled and sometimes they mourne as those that have no hope in regard of sinnes and that is the fault we have now to declare and to reproove § 2. Know then O yee servants of God that when you doe even torment your selves and keepe your hearts still upon the racke as it were you doe greatly dishonour God in this unmeasurable mourning and greatly hurt your selves too For what is there not goodnesse in God as well as Iustice Is he made all of anger Are his mercies cleane gone for ever Hath he shut up his tender compassion in displeasure It is a discredit to the master of the family if his servants be alwaies sad and whining For if they had a good and mercifull Master why should they be still languishing and complaining See then that ye doe offend in this case by not acknowledging the infinite mercies and tender compassions of your God For in not comforting your selves you doe actually deny him to bee mercifull For if he be mercifull why doe wee not taste and feele how good he is § 3. And take notice that in not comforting your selves you be also injurious to your own soules You make your selves unfit to serve God in any good duty unfit to pray unfit to heare unfit to live unfit to die by being still heavie and discouraged When the soule goes mourning and bowed downe to the ground still in feare that God will not accept and will not pardon it lies open to manifold temptations to murmuring to wearinesse of well-doing to impatiency to frowardnesse and cannot set it selfe resolutely to doe the worke of holinesse which God requireth Thou hindrest the growth of grace in thy selfe for want of faire weather as it were Thou makest the fruits of the Spirit to be farre lesse and fewer then they would be because they have not warmth enough to bring them up Wherfore thou art to reprehend thy self and to say This is my weakenesse and infirmity this is my fault verily which I must not excuse but acknowledge and blame in my selfe § 4. Object If any say alasse I would comfort my selfe if I could I doe not desire to go languishing but oh I cannot choose the burden of sin is so pressing lies so hard upō my soule Answ I answer the thing that thou must bee blamed for is not because thou art not actually comforted for therein thou must be a patient and take it when it comes even when God will give it but because thou dost not set thy selfe to enjoy comfort that thou dost not offer to thy minde the consolations of God and dost not take paines to binde up thy broken and rent heart I say thou dost not take paines to get comfort but yeeldest unto sorrow and hangest downe thine hands and sufferest thy knees to be feeble Thou dost not call to mind the promises of God Thou dost not ponder upon the death of Christ Thou dost not entertaine such thoughts as are fit to bring comfort to thy soule but sellest over thy selfe to sadd and fearefull discouraging thoughts still still looking to the greatnesse and multitude of thy sinnes and not raising thine eyes to and fixing thy thoughts upon the mercies and loving kindnesses of God not earnestly imploring and begging the helpe of his Spirit to comfort thee and this is thy fault arising from hence that thou art too ready to hearken to Satan who doth lye unto thee and denies thine interest unto comfort Now suffer a gentle and mild reproofe for it and know it to bee a fault for why shouldst thou not enjoy thine own portion and take that that God giveth thee If thou answerest still I cannot I cannot I answer still thou canst labour strive endeavour and thy not labouring and endeavouring is that that is blamed in thee § 5. As in outward crosses wee are often too peremptory mourners and with Iacob will not bee comforted and resolve we will goe mourning to the grave So sometimes in regard of sinnes wee will not be comforted Sometimes this ariseth from an error in Iudgement because we thinke not our selves to have any interest unto comfort when we have and are afraid to take it least it should not belong to us Many times Gods people thinke they have not cause to take comfort when they have and therefore put comfort from themselves because they mistake their owne estate § 6. But tell me hast thou not afflicted thy selfe hast thou not wept and mourned hast thou not turned thy laughter into sorrow and thy Joy into heavinesse hast thou not cast downe thy selfe before the Lord and found out and acknowledged all thy faults against thy selfe so farre as by searching thou wast able to find them If thy soule can say I have laboured to see all my sinnes and laboured to confesse and weepe for them and complained of them and shamed my selfe and judged my selfe Quest Then I aske againe hast thou not renounced thy selfe and all thine owne merits Answ Yes htat I have too Quest Hast thou not resolved to take Christ youake hast thou not made a Covenant with God to fight against thy sinnes and to reforme and amend thy life and make they heart and spirit new Answ Yes that I have too I have resolved but alasse I find little power