Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	heart_n	lord_n	see_v	2,374	5	3.5512	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A89196	The nationall covenant. Or, A discourse on the covenant. Wherein also the severall parts of the late protestation are proved to be grounded on religion and reason: with sundry motives and directions, tending to further our keeping covenant with God. Which may be of speciall use in these times. By Tho. Mocket, M. of Arts, and preacher of the word of God.	Mocket, Thomas, 1602-1670?	1642 (1642)	Wing M2307; Thomason E113_3; ESTC R23139	40,201	58

which he sware unto thy fathers Deut. 8.18 Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God what is it to remember God but to thinke of our Covenant of obedience to him and doe it and marke what followes That he may establish his Covenant which he sware unto thy fathers So psal 25.10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth i.e. all the passages of his providence are out of love for good and shall certainly be made good be performed but to whom to such as keep his Covenant and his Testimonies Brethren would you have God to keep Covenant with you then see that you keep Covenant with him 6. Know that whosoever doth keep Covenant with God them will God owne for his peculiar ones Exod. 19.5 6. Now therefore if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my Covenant then shall ye be a peculiar people to me above all people Beloved this is a great matter that God here promises That if we will indeed keep Covenant with him then we shall be his peculiar ones as much beloved as highly esteemed of God as a most choice treasure is of men that God the great God of Heaven and Earth should so love esteeme and account of a man a poore weake mortall sinfull man this is wonderfull yet this you see he promiseth to all that keep Covenant with him 7. And for the future God promises great matters and will certainly make them all good to all those that keep Covenant with him they shall have Heaven life eternall immediate communion with and a full fruition of himselfe who is the only alsufficient independent good We have his owne word for it Lev. 26.11 12. and he cannot deny himselfe Therefore a faithfull man that keeps Covenant with God is a happy man a rich man indeed not so much in re as in spe in a present possession as in future reversion and sure promises God himselfe Christ Heaven glory life eternall all is his If a man have a bond of a hundred or a thousand pounds from sure men we say and that truly he is so rich so a faithfull godly man is as rich as the promises Heaven and eternall life yea God and Christ and all is his and therefore he cannot but be most happy who doth now in part and shall fully enjoy him who is all in all If a man had all the creatures all the glory pleasure and comforts of them all yet that all were nothing in comparison of God all without him could not content the minde of man but God himselfe will fully satisfie it which results from all the former 8. It will also be a point of wisedome to keep Covenant with God Deut. 4.5 6 Behold I have taught you Statutes and Judgements the Articles of the Covenant betwixt God and us keep therfore and do them for this is your wisdome and your understanding in the sight of the Nations c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith a * Greg. Nazian Orat. ●3 Father Let a promise made by a vow or Covenant be perfected by performance for it is the part of fooles to faile Oh! my brethren how should the consideration of this so great and manifold good inflame our hearts to this duty That is the 4th motive the benefit Fifthly on the other side thinke of the great evils that will follow upon the wilfull breach of Covenant with God God is greatly dishonoured Religion the peace safety and welfare of the Land is extreamely endangered according to the greatnesse and generallity of this sinne for if one sinner destroyeth much good what will a multitude a million doe beside the privation of all that personall good fore-mentioned and the positive displeasure and evils which God inflicts on Covenant-breakers which oftentimes lights heavy on men in this world in their name estates bodies consciences See Lev. 26.15 c. and Deut. 28.15 to 68. there are 54. verses together of dreadfull plagues that God denounceth against Covenant-breakers one of which well set on by the hand of the Almighty is enough to breake the heart of the stoutest sinner Jerem. 11.2 3. saith God Heare ye the words of this Covenant Thus saith the Lord cursed bee the man that obeyeth not the words of this Covenant Neither doth breach of Covenant with God alwayes bring evill upon a mans selfe only but upon others also many times take one instance a Sam. 21. because Saul brake the Covenant which Joshuah and Israel made with the Gibeonites at their first comming into Canaan therefore God brought on all Israel a famine in the dayes of David for three yeares together There are divers things remarkeable here as 1. This Covenant was made not with Israel Gods owne people but with the Gibeonites who were otherwise designed to destruction with the rest of the Canaanites 2. It was not made in Sauls owne person but by his Predecessor and that 3. above three hundred and eighty yeares before Saul came to the Kingdome 4. It was with a good intention in Saul and out of his zeale for the children of Israel and Judah v. 2. Yet God plagued all Israel and Judah with a famine for that breach of Covenant no lesse then 3. yeares yeare after yeare The inference from hence is easie that every one may see what a grievous thing it is to breake Covenant with God Consider all these things weigh and ponder them well and seriously and the Lord worke them on your hearts and make them effectuall to quicken you and mee to this duty 2. Directions to further us in the duty Now if there be any soule that having entred into Covenant with God lately and all that have formerly done it in Baptisme who unfainedly desires and resolves to keep Covenant with God let him hearken to these directions following which may through the blessing of God not a little further him in the performance of this duty 1. Resolve upon it that it is a duty and it must be done Covenants must be kept and that you will set about it and are resolved to doe it Resolution will carry a man on far and help much as in all worldly undertakings so in spirituall and where a man is not resolved to goe on every little matter will take him off That is the first 2. Rid the heart of all it 's base lusts especially of it's bosome lusts labour to empty the soule of them Our lusts are like unto Sampsons lockes all the while Sampsons lockes were on no bonds would hold him but when they were cut off he could easily be bound so here while our strong lusts remaine in our hearts no bonds no promises or Covenants will hold us in obedience to God You may see this in the Jewes Jerem. 42.1 2 3. They came to the Prophet desired him to aske counsell of God for them what he will have them to doe and they promise very solemnely to doe it ver 5. and 6. They said to Ieremy The Lord be a true

man vow a vow unto the Lord or sweare an Oath to binde his soule with a bond hee shall not breake his word he shall doe according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth And if promises and vowes touching things voluntary and of a far lesse and inferiour nature made onely by a mans selfe alone doe so strongly binde that God may justly and * Iust è exigitur ad solvendum qui non cogitur al vovendum Bern. in Ep. will require it of him and punish him accordingly for breach of promise in ease he performe not how much more doth such a solemne vow and Protestation as this is made to God in a thing of this nature which Religion and reason binds us to observe though there were no Protestation made nor ever thought of how much more I say doth this binde us and will God punish the wilfull contemners or breakers of it Wherefore brethren you who have taken this Protestation or Nationall Covenant and have therein implicitly called God to witnesse and be your Judge to take vengeance on you if you performe not your vow and Covenant to God be sure the hand of God will follow you if which I hope I shall never see and heare of you endeavour not to performe your Protestation and Covenant according to promise but wilfully breake it and much more if also any should wittingly and willingly endeavour to hinder others that endeavour to keep their Covenant and doe wilfully disturbe them in their duty of maintaining the true Reformed Protestant Religion or opposing and removing in a legall way any part of Popery or Popish Innovations protested against suppese Images and scandalous Popish Pictures Crucifixes and the like And let such a man be sure that if he performe not his part but wilfully breake it oppose and hinder others yet God will performe his part God will bring the curse upon him which he hath implicitly wished in his Protestation in the presence of Almighty God as he did bring on the Jewes the curse which they wished to themselves Mat. 27.25 And we know it hath layne heavily upon that Nation above sixteene hundred yeares When Zedekiah had broken his Covenant with the King of Babylon see what the Lord saith of him Ezek. 17.15 16. Shall he prosper or shall he escape that doth such things or shall he breake the Covenant and be delivered As I live saith the Lord God surely mine Oath which he hath despised and my Covenant which he hath broken even it will I recompence upon his owne head v. 19. We have solemnely covenanted and promised vowed and protested to God the King of Heaven to maintaine the true Religion oppose all Popery and Popish Innovations to the King on earth to maintaine his Royall Person Honour and Estate to the Parliament to maintaine and defend their power and Priviledges c. And we may be sure that man shall not escape that wilfully breaketh his Covenant but the hand of God will find him out either here to his conversion repentance and salvation or hereafter to his condemnation Wherefore brethren I beseech you all and I hope and perswade my selfe you will consider what you have promised in the presence of Almighty God and doe your best and heartiest endeavour to keep your Protestation Oh let not any person draw guilt on his owne soule by a wilfull breach or carelesse neglect of his Protestation I could therefore wish that every good Subject would have and set up a Copy of the Protestation in his owne house to minde himselfe so often as he goes in and out of his solemne vow and Covenant made to maintaine and defend with his life power and estate the true Reformed Protestant Religion against all Popery and Popish Innovations the Kings Majesties person the power and Priviledges of Parliament c. Yea all of you have in Baptisme solemnely engaged your selves to God to beleeve in him love him feare him serve and obey him in all his righteous commands to defend his blessed truth and the professors of it and consequently to oppose what in you lyeth by all lawfull meanes all Popery and Popish Rites and Ceremonies and whatsoever is contrary to his blessed word and will Thus every mothers childe of us stands engaged to God and be sure thou canst not wilfully breake Covenant with God and escape unpunished But let us come to speake more particularly by way of Application Vse to bring all home to our selves to worke as on the head by information so on the heart and affections by application that the whole man may be put upon the conscionable practise of the duty which is the end of preaching And seeing a Covenant once made may not be broken but carefully kept and performed this may serve to reprove to humble and to exhort First for Reprehension and that of two sorts wherein blaming others I desire to chide and be humbled my selfe 1. Such as seemingly make or enter into Covenant with God but doe really breake it So doe all that having been baptized doe not live answerably Circumcision is called a Covenant Gen. 17. because it doth necessarily presuppose and seale the Covenant Now Baptisme is in the roome thereof yet how many breake it yea how few doe indeed keep that Covenant or that doe in good earnest endeavour to keep it Many very many of them have also renewed that Covenant at the Lords Supper re-engaged their soules againe to God and yet goe on still in the wayes of sinne and Satan In the Covenant we all engage our selves to leave all sinne beleeve all divine truths revealed to us and live holily in obedience to all his righteous and good Commandements yet where almost shall we find a man or woman truly endeavouring to keep Covenant with God The Word Sacrament signified of old the Souldiers Oath betwixt the Captaine and the common souldier which now is by long use applyed only to this Ordinance of God and so we give God the hand in the Lords Supper It is a Covenant with God wherein we doe all as it were sweare promise all faithfull service to him to be wholly at his command and not to serve sinne and Satan any longer The very act of receiving or being baptized imports no lesse and binds us to the duty and so doth the Lords Supper Yet where almost is the man or woman that makes conscience of keeping his Covenant with God Doth not almost every one run on still in his owne wayes serve himselfe and his lusts sinne and Satan as if he had never entred into Covenant with God or made any promise of obedience and so adde unfaithfulnesse in breaking his Covenant with God Yea observe it and we shall see many so farre from keeping Covenant with God that they grow worse afterward then they were before they came to the Sacrament so how many are there who lying on their sicke bed or in some great trouble or feare promise and seriously vow that if

layeth on the soul How much greater think you is the tye and engagement which the Covenant of God layeth on the soul 3. We must keep Covenant with God that we may be like unto God as we are exhorted to be Epbes 5.1 as in all other things so in this we must strive to imitate and follow God to be like unto him Now concerning God we reade That he is faithfull in keeping Covenant with us Deut. 7.9 The Lord thy God is the faithfull God that keepeth Covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his Commandments Psal 111.5 He is ever mindefull of his Covenant as he promises Hos 2.19 20. I will betroth thee unto me for ever c. Therefore since God is faithfull in keeping Covenant with us we must be faithfull in keeping Covenant with God that we may be as our duty is like unto our heavenly Father and thereby may approve our selves to be the children of-God 4. For this end we enter into Covenant with God at Baptism renew it at the Lords Supper and some other times that we might keep his Statues Judgements and Commandments God requires this and we use it thiefly as a help to further us in our Obedience to God we are all naturally very backward and apt to take any occasion to neglect our duty of obedience to God and therfore do promise and bind our selves thereby to help and further us in our duty as we use to binde men to bring them into bond who are apt to break promise If we be to deal with an unfaithfull person that is like to play fast and loose to deny his promise and flie from his word we use to get him into bonds and then we think all is sure enough 5. Breach of Covenant God accounts a great sinne and will severely punish it therefore we should keep Covenant with God 1. He accounts breach of Covenant a great sin though it be of covenant only betwixt man and man and reckoneth it among the great sins of the Gentiles That they were Covenant-breakers Rom. 1.31 Psal 55.20 2 Tim. 3.3 what is it then to break Covenant with God 2. And as God accounts it a great sin so be will severely punish it So he threatned Gen. 17.14 The uncarcumcised man childe whose flesh in his forehead is not circumcised that soul shall be cut off from his people mark the reason He bath broken my Covenant saith God Levis 26.15 16 17. Saith God If ye shall despise my Statutes so that ye will not do all my Commandments but that ye break my Covenant I will even appoint over you terrour consumption and the burning Ague And I will set myface against you and ye shall be slain by your enemies Ezek. 17.15 16. saith God of Zedekiab Shall he prosper Shall be escape that doth such things Or shall be break the Covenant and be delivered As I live saith the Lord God Surely in the place where the King dwelleth that made him king whose Oath be despised and whose Covenant be brake even with him in the midst of Babylon shall he die A grievous curse is threatned against this sin Jer. 11.2 3. Hear ye the words of this Covenant Thus saith the Lord God of Israel Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this Covenant yea many curses Deut. 29.20 21-25 The Lord will not spare him but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousie shall smoke against that man and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him and the Lord shall blot out his name from under leaven and the Lord shall separate him to evill out of all the Tribes of Israel according to all the curses of the Covenant that are written in this book of the Law Mark the grand reason of all this fierce anger of the Lord against such vers 25. Because they have forsaken the Covenant of the Lord God of their fathers For breaking of Covenant God caused Achan and all his to be stoned and burnt in the fire Iosh 7.11.15 and all Israel suffered with him they could not stand before their enemies but were routed and smitten before them For this very thing Sauls breaking the Covenant made with the Gibionites though long before his time God punished all Israel with three yeers famine and in the end with the death of seven of Sauls sons 2 Sam. 21. therefore also God rent the Kingdom from Solomon and gave ten Tribes to his servant Ieroboam 1 King 11 11. All these things give weight to this duty and the point in hand Thus we have seen it opened what a Covenant is what it is to keep it and how Also the point or duty clearly proved That a Covenant once made may not be broken but must be carefully kept Thus of a Covenant in generall Now with the good leave of the great Assembly I will here take occasion to speak something concerning our Nationall Covenant Vow or Protestation in particular And here I will first set down the Protestation prudently commended to us by the Honorable House in these words I A. B. Do in the presence of Almighty God promise vow and protest to maintain and defend as far as lawfully I may with my life power and estate the true reformed Protestant Religion expressed in the Doctrine of the Church of England against all Popery and popish Innovations within this Realm contrary to the same Doctrine And according to the duty of my Allegiance His Maiesties Royall Person Honour and Estate As also the Power and Priviledges of Parliaments the lawfull Rights and Liberties of the Snbjects and every person that maketh this Protestation in whatsoever he shall do in the lawfull pursuance of the same And to my power and as far as lawfully I may I will oppose and by all good wayes and means endeavour to bring to condigne punishment all such as shall either by force practice counsels plots conspiracies or otherwise do any thing to the contrary of any thing in this present Protestation contained And further that I shal in all just and honorable ways endeabor to preserbe the union and peace betwirt the three Kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland And neither for hope fear nor other respect shall relinquish this Promise How and Protestation Touching this Nationall Covenant or Protestation we may here observe and consider 1. What we here promise and vow to maintaine and so what we here renounce 2. What it is to maintaine and defend the true Protestant Religion 3. Why for what ends we entred into this Protestation 4. How far this promise and Protestation doth bind us First What we here promise vow and protest viz. divers things which I conceive are in number 7. And the First is to maintaine and defend with our lives power and estate The true Reformed Protestant Religion expressed in the Doctriue of the Church of England against all Popery and Popish Innovations within this Realme contrary to the same Doctrine

and faithfull Witnesse betweene us if we doe not according to all things for the which the Lord thy God shall send thee to us whether it be good or whether it be evill we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we send thee and they adde a strong reason also why they will doe so that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God Yet there was a bosome lust in their hearts and therefore when the Prophet from the Lord told them what they should doe that it might be well with them they fall off all their former solemne protestation would not hold chap. 43.2 3. Therefore labour to rid the heart of all base lusts that like a false by as in a bowle will draw aside from Gods Commandements 3. Know where the power both to be rid of bosome lusts that hinder and to keep Covenant with God is and seeke it there where it is to be had and that is in Jesus Christ all our strength is in him there is no power in our selves not so much as to thinke a good thought of our selves as of our selves 2 Cor. 3.5 God is the strength of his people Psal 28.8 and 37.39 and he will give strength unto them Psal 29.11 and 68.35 All the grace we have is from Christ by his Spirit and all the obedience we doe is by vertue of his grace in us inabling us As at first all the strength we should have had had Adam and we stood in him was to be derived from him the first Adam so now all the strength a Christian hath to doe God any service is from Jesus Christ the second Adam by vertue of a new Covenant made with us in him It is not enough to binde a mans selfe in a bond of a hundred or a thousand pounds the bond will not pay the debt or inable the obliged to doe it there must be a stocke of mony a power and way to raise it or it will never be done so here now all our strength is in Christ and therefore as Josephs brethren in their want went to Joseph the Lord of Egypt so we must goe to Jesus the Lord of the Church This is his Office he is the Prophet and King of his Church a Prophet to teach us and a King to rule in our hearts by his Spirit to subdue sinne and inable to holinesse therefore he hath received gifts to give unto men Psal 68.18 and Ephes 4.8 Therefore if disordered lusts stirre in the soule goe to Christ the King as when there are disordered persons in a Kingdome we goe to the Magistrate to punish and curbe them so goe to Christ for power against them and for power to doe duty to keep Covenant And as you looke to Christs Office with an eye of faith so presse him with his promise he hath promised to subdue our enemies sinne and Satan and to inable his to doe valiantly and his promise is confirmed by an oath Heb. 6.17 18. and 7.20 therefore feare not to speed 4. Exercise the abilities you have received already and they will increase and grow greater as we use to say use leggs and have leggs use strength and have strength so use that little ability you have from him and God will give more To him that hath shall be given Mat. 25.29 Doe as well as you can actus intendit habitum si nervosè fit Aquinas the act increaseth the habit and faculty of doing if the power we have be put out in acting I say therefore to you as David to Solomon 1 Chron. 22.16 Arise and be doing and the Lord will be with you 5. Get strong reasons for God against sinne Satan c. for the true Religion against Popery and Popish Innovations c. for unlesse the judgement be clearly convinced the heart will never come fully off and much lesse goe on evenly and constantly in the duty and therefore get strong reasons why God must be beleeved loved feared obeyed above all so why sinne must be left and abhorred why this Religion must be embraced professed practised justified defended and not Papistry or any other Religion and so for all other things protested 6. Renew your graces as faith repentance and love often 1. Faith for ever the soule finds it true by experience that as faith increaseth or declineth so doth obedience 2. Renew Repentance or sorrow for sinne and former failings often To sinne once is too often but to repent sorrow for it many times is little enough The oftner we renew our repentance and sorrow for our failings and breaches of Covenant the greater will be our sorrow and the more our care to keep Covenant and feare to offend for the future 3. Renew also your love to God and Jesus Christ The more love to God and goodnesse the more strength and readinesse in the soule to obey God 7. Set up a spirituall watch in the soule over thine owne heart Jer. 17.9 42.3 4 6 7. with 43.2 3. especially against the lusts to which thou art most prone that the deceitfull heart and lusts draw it not aside out of the way of Gods Commandements Every man hath a deceitfull and dissembling heart that is ever ready to dissemble with God and deceive it selfe If any man hath a better thought of himselfe he is so much the worse for that thought and therefore have an eye to the Covenant and looke to thine owne heart also that it deceive thee not and cause thee to behave thy selfe falsly in thy Covenant 8. Keep under a powerfull Ministery and be frequent in the use of all Gods Ordinances and religious duties It is the means God hath appointed to keep men in the good way of obedience to Gods Commandements In 2 Chron. 15. we reade that every thing was out of order and there was no regard of the Law of God or man and the reason is ver 3. because Israel was without a teaching Priest dumbe S. Johns it may be they had enough but there was no teaching ministery to instruct direct and exhort them to duty and as Gods instrument to convey grace by his Ordinances to inable them to obey God for the teaching Minister is an instrument by whose labours in the word God is pleased to worke grace in the hearts of his people whereby they are inabled to duty The Ministery of the Word reading the Scriptures prayer c. are the food of the soule Now he that will labour or be able to worke must cate so he that will have strength to doe duties acceptably and keep Covenant with God must be frequent in the use of Gods Ordinances The soule must feed on this bread of life and therefore brethren that you may be inabled to doe the Lords worke and keep touch with God live under a powerfull Ministery and be constant and conscionable in the use of it and all other meanes of grace Let me exhort you as the Angell did Elias Vp and eat so doe you feed with savour and delight upon the Word Sacraments c. 9. Minde your selves often of the Covenant thinke seriously with your selves what you have done and how deeply you have engaged your selves to God and worke it on your hearts that it may take a deep impression on your spirits that it may never be forgotten for if it be forgotten though never so solemnely made it will be broken Therefore brethren minde your selves of your duty and often remember one another Heb 3.13 exhort one another This will be of good use also Men keep in minde their Rent-dayes dayes of payment and will sometimes put others in minde also least they misse and forfeit and so should we doe least we loose the benefit of our Covenant Lastly pray often and earnestly and get others to pray for you also and pray one for another So did David for himselfe Psal 86.11 Teach me thy way O Lord I will walke in thy truth unite my heart to feare thy Name And Psalme 119.36 Incline my heart unto thy Testimonies So verse 80. and 143. Also for others 1 Chron. 29. when he saw a great willingnesse in the peoples spirits hee prayes verse 18. O Lord God of Abraham Isaac and of Israel our Fathers keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people and prepare their hearts unto thee So pray I also for you even for every one that hath some good resolutions and is in his heart purposed to keep Covenant with God The Lord keepe this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of your hearts and prepare your hearts to him This God hath promised Jer. 32.39 40. Ezek. 36.27 there is great ground for prayer Now we know that faithfull prayer will availe much if it be fervent James 5.16 the promise is made to it and it is the worke of Gods owne Spirit and God cannot but heare the request of his owne Spirit put up according to his will I end all with that of King David to Salomon 1 Chron. 22.16 Arise and be doing and the Lord will be with you And that of the Apostle Be not weary of well-doing for in due time ye shall reape if ye faint not Amen * ⁎ * FINIS