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
A48861	The glory of free grace display'd: or, The transcendant excellency of the love of God in Christ, unto believing, repenting sinners, in some measure describ'd Wherein, 1. The doctrine about election, and the covenant of reconciliation is explained. 2. The error of the antinomians, who assert, that the filth of sin was laid on Christ, and that the holiness as well as the righteousness of Christ is made the elects while in the womb, &c. With their abuse of free-grace particularly detected and confuted. 3. In what sense our sins were laid on Christ, and Christ's righteousness made the believers, according to the sacred scriptures, evinced. 4. The glory of irresistible-grace, as exerted in the conversion of a sinner in opposition to the Arminian, cleared. 5. A modest defence of the sober dominican, about physical predetermination.	Lobb, Stephen, d. 1699.	1680 (1680)	Wing L2724B; ESTC R218819	67,996	163

docens quod talis est cooperatio primae causae quod disponit omnia suaviter juxta scil modum cujusque cooperans unicuique So Austin Et hoc est opus ejus quo continet omnia quo ejus sapientia pertendit à fine usque ad finem fortiter et disponit omnia suaviter lib. 4. de Gen. ad lit c. 12. 2. This Irresistible grace is given ordinarily in the use of means viz. the preaching of the word whence Paul must go to be instructed by Ananias Acts 9. Philip is sent to preach to the Eunuch Peter is sent to Cornelius Acts 10. to the end that by the foolishness of Preaching many might be converted 1 Cor 1.21 13. It is therefore the great duty of all men seriously apply themselves to the use of means that so they may be converted and turned unto God For 1. Our souls are Essentially-active-beings and therefore should be engag'd for God and Holiness and not for sin and the pleasures thereof 2. We are commanded to prepare our hearts in order to our turning unto the Lord 1 Sam. 7.3 Ezek. 14.6 ch 18.31 which Scriptures as they expresly shew it to be our duty to be active in turning unto God even so moreover they imply that if we are active in our work God will be graciously pleased by his blessing abundantly to encourage us therein All men even the wicked must pray they must attend on the word and mind the Salvation of their souls which if they do who can tell but that the Lord may be gracious Thus Peter said unto Simon the Sorcerer pray God if perhaps he will forgive the thoughts of thy heart For when the wicked do pray and hear the word although their prayers c. are an abomination unto the Lord in that they do not pray with that Faith and Love c. they ought yet even in that they do both pray and hear the word they are not so ●…minable as they would be should they totally neglect these duties For he who pray's with an unsound heart fails as to the manner of prayer but he who prays not at all fails as to the matter as well as manner and consequently is the greater transgressor Again he who prays and hears the word is in a fairer way of receiving a blessing from the Lord than he who will neither pray nor hear the word In the discharge of these duties we may meet with God 't is probable because frequently it hath been so but he who lives in the constant neglect of them is in danger of losing his immortal soul eternally But remember that 't is both duty to pray and hear yea and to do so in Faith with hearts sincerely devoted unto God We must engage in duty and yet conclude that all the good we receive is of Grace so Fulgentius * Cum timore tremore tuam salutem operare Nec Lectio desit operibus bonis Nec bona opera desint studio lectionis In Scripturis S. studium tui cordis impende Et ibi si fueris qui sis quique debeas esse cognosce Ad has si humilis mitis accesseris ibi profectò invenies Pr●evenientem gratiam quâ potest elisus surgere comitantem quâ viam recti queat itineris currere subsequentem quâ valeat ad regni caelestis beatitudinem pervenire Ful. de conv ad Theodor. Epist 6. Yea the same Fulgentius in the same Epistle doth encourage us both unto our duty and to give the Glory of all to Free-Grace Hujus Gratiae adjutorium semper est nobis a Deo poscendum sed nec ipsum quod poscimus nostris viribus assignemus neque enim haberi potest ipse saltem Orationis affectus nisi divinitus fuerit attributus Ut ergo desideremus adiutorium Gratiae hoc ipsum quoque opus est Gratiae Ipsa namque incipit infundi ut incipiat posci Ipsa quoque amplius infunditur cum poscentibus datu●… Quis vero potest Gratiam poscere nisi velit sed nisi in eo Deus ipsum voluntatem operetur velle n●…tenus poterit From the whole that hath been said 't is most certain that the manifold grace of God hath been diversly extended to mankind in general and to some in particular 1. To mankind in general and that in these following respects 1. To all mankind in that God the Son assumed Humane Nature in which he suffered and fulfilled all righteousness to the end mans Salvation might become possible The Lord might have left us all in that helpless and desperately miserable state in which we with the fallen Angels were once fixed But God extended the riches of his grace towards fallen man even when the least favour was not shewn the fallen Angels 2. To all mankind in that as the Salvation of all is become possible the Lord moreover affords unto all such a sufficiency of help in order to the doing what is necessary unto an actual entrance into the glories of God as leaves all such as remain in sin most Inexcusable The worst of men who received least receiving more than they improve must acknowledg that Grace was afforded them but they most wretchedly rejected it But then 2. The Grace of God is infinitely exalted in that it is extended after an eminent manner to SOME in special some receive Faith and all such other graces as are necessary to their actual Salvation who must ascribe the glory of their Faith Repentance and Conversion their sincere Obedience and final perseverance to the glory of Free-Grace Here I might enlarge and shew how and in what respect the Grace of God is exalted in the Supporting Refreshing and comforting the believer while in this life diversely exercised But I designing to be short will insist only on what may clear God from the Reproaches are cast on him by the wicked who assert that according to the Opinion of many learned Divines both among the Protestants and Papists it may be soundly argued That God doth lay men under a Natural necessity i.e. a necessity of the consequent or rather of the Effect of sinning which Notion if true would subvert not only the greatest part of the preceding Discourse but even the whole of Religion The Falsness and Unsoundness of which wretched reflection as cast on God by the Irrationally-Athestical Debauchees of our times I will attempt to evince in the following Chapter CHAP. VIII The Grace of God further cleared Divine Providence owned and acknowledged by most God no way the Author of mans sin The Dominican notion about Physical Predetermination vindicated from the Absurdities are said to flow from it The necessity of our being Modest in enquiries of this Nature Several reasons for this drawn from the Depths of the Mystery as well as from the shallowness of Humane Capacities and the General Confusion the Jews Philosophers and Schoolmen run into when too nice in their Disquisitions Some Truths of greatest importance concerning the exalting

Dominicans to shew that Physical Predetermination as Prescience doth but infer a Logical necessity which necessity is consistent enough in the judgment of all with Humane Liberty The product of all which will be this viz. That such are the transactions of God with men so infinitely wise so Just so Equal so Holy and yet so merciful and Gracious that none no not those who are to be condemned unto Eternal Misery will have one word to offer against God Oh! How Infinite is the Freeness of his Grace Thus I have further shewn the Grace of God to be so infinitely glorious that there is nothing in those profound points about Predetermination c. when modestly asserted that can in the least blemish it I say when modestly asserted because such as are too confident and peremptory in their determinations about this point which is as dark and as mysterious as any in the whole body of Divinity may suddenly break the bounds and come too near the Mount to their own hurt For although a Predetermination is most clearly Revealed in Scripture yet whether by a Physical efficient-praemotion to this sinful action rather than to that is not so obvious A praedetermination there is but whether St. Austin Prosper and Fulgentius had not righter apprehensions of it than the Dominicans who differ from St. Austin in several respects as Jansenius in his Augustinus de Grat. Christ Salvat lib. 8. c. 1. c. hath unanswerably proved is no impertinent Quaery But without any further determination of these incomprehensible difficulties as I have begun so I 'le end both this Chapter and Treatise with most necessary and concerning truths which as they are so self-evident as to be known to the Heathen in like manner they are such as add to the illustrating Free-Grace 1. That Although God is the great Orderer and Disposer of all things the Author and conserver of all beings and hath eternally predetermined and fore-ordained all things that come to pass in time yet man is not hereby Physically necessitated to any sin but doth what he doth most freely and therefore must not complain on God nor neglect the performance of Holy duties unto him 1. Mans Liberty is not destroyed by Predetermination so Seneca Natur. Quaest l. 2. c. 38. ' Ista nobis opponi solent ut probetur nihil voluntati nostrae relictum omne jus fato traditum Cum de ista re agitur dicam quemadmodum manente fato aliquid sit in hominis arbitrio ' c. 2. Men must not complain on God as if they had been compel'd to sin So Chrysippus in A. Gell. noct Attic. lib. 6. c. 2. ' Propterea Negat oportere ferri audirique homines aut nequam aut ignavos nocentes audaces qui cum in culpa in maleficio revicti sunt perfugiunt ad Fati necessitatem tanquam in aliquod Fati asylum quae pessimè fecerunt ea non suae temeritati sed fato esse attribuenda dicunt ' 3. We ought not to neglect duty notwithstanding this Predetermination but must Pray and use such means as are suited to the obtaining the desired end So Seneca ubi supra c. 37. ' nos quoque existimamus vota proficere salvâ vi ac potestate fatorum quaedam enim à Diis immortalibus ita suspensa relicta sunt ut in bonum vertant si admotae Diis preces fuerint si vota suscepta Ita non est hoc contra fatum sed ipsum quoque in Fato est ' ' Aut futurum inquit est aut non Si futurum est etiam si non susceperis vota fiet Si non est futurum etiam si susceperis vota non fiet Falsa est illa interrogatio quia mediam illam inter ista exceptionem praeteris Futurum inquam hoc est sed si vota suscepta fuerint ' So Cicero de fato ' Sic enim interrogant Si fatum tibi est ex hoc morbo convalescere sive medicum adhibueris sive non convalesces Item si fatum tibi est ex hoc morbo non convalescere sive tu medicum adhibueris sive non non convalesces Alterutrum fatum est medicum ergo adhibere nihil attinet Rect● genus hoc interrogationis ignavum atque 〈◊〉 nominatum est quod eadem ratione omn●… è vita tolletur actio But to the Second self-evident proposition 2. That although we cannot fully comprehend HOW these things are reconcilable yet we have the greatest reason imaginable to conclude that they are most true yea and capable of a Reconciliation What is not possible with men is possible with God Gods works do bear the characters of Divinity on them and consequently 't is become impossible that any Finite wight should have any adaequate conceptions of them We must be satisfied that we know what is though we cannot comprehend How it is For the confirming this consider what is said by Lactantius de Orig. er l. 2. c. 9. Adeo nefas existimandum est ea scrutari quae Deus voluit esse celata Quasi verò ex hoc putandum sit non esse haec divinitus facta quia quo modo facta sunt non potest pervideri Opera ipsius videntur oculis Quomodo autem illa fecerit ne mente quidem videtur quia ut Hermes ait mortale immortali temporale perpetuo corruptibile incorrupto propinquare non potest id est propius accedere intelligentia subsequi Denique cum aperiret homini veritatem Deus ca sola scire nos voluit quae interfuit hominem scire ad vitam consequendam quae verò ad curiosam profanam cupiditatem pertinebant reticuit ut arcana essent Quid ergo quaeris quae nec potes scire nec si scias beatior fias perfecta est in homine sapientia si Deum esse unum ab ipso esse facta universa cognoscat So Cicero de divinat l. 1. Hoc sum contentus quòd etiamsi Quomodo quidque fiat ignorem Quid fiat intelligo sic ventorum Imbrium signa quae dixi rationem quam habeant non satis perspicio vim eventum agnosco scio approbo Again Quid quaeris Carneades cur haec ita fiant aut qua arte perspici possent nescire me fateor evenire autem teipsum dico videre Quae est igitur ista calliditas res vetustate robustas calumniando velle pervertere Non reperio causam Latet fortasse obscuritate involuta naturae Non enim me Deus ista scire sed his tantummodo uti voluit Utar igitur c. From these two acknowledged Truths there ●oth naturally flow this other viz. 3. That none more Judicious and wise none more sober and modest none more regardful of the Dread Majesty of God than those who on the strict est inquiry after these things profess that what concerns God so immediately as these profound Doctrines about the modes and