Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	master_n	respect_n	servant_n	1,977	5	7.1711	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07200	Christian humiliation, or, A treatise of fasting declaring the nature, kindes, ends, vses, and properties of a religious fast: together with a briefe discourse concerning the fast of Lent. By Henry Mason, pastor of Saint Andrews-Vndershaft London.	Mason, Henry, 1573?-1647.	1625 (1625)	STC 17602; ESTC S120999	101,549	174

prayers night and day In which sentence wee may consider two things for this purpose first that this holy woman made a dayly practice of fasting shee serued God in this manner night and day which sheweth that she fasted ordinarily and for an ordinary exercise of deuotion Secondly That by this kinde of fasting she serued God And if shee serued God by her fasting we need not feare lest wee dishonour him by the like practice Reason second from the vses Secondly That ordinary fasts are lawfull and vseful may be proued because ordinary fasts may and doe serue for those profitable vses for which religious fasts were ordayned For those vses are to testifie and helpe forward our humiliation and repentance to sharpen and whet on our attention in holy dueties and to subdue and tame the vnruly pride of the flesh and such like the respect whereof is the onely thing that maketh fasting so much commended to vs in the Scriptures But all these holy ends and vses may be attayned or furthered no lesse by ordinary than by extraordinary fasts For not onely our fastings when wee keepe them for some speciall and extraordinary occasion but euen those also which wee vse in an ordinary and vsuall course of Christianity may tame the flesh by subtracting its food may eleuate the minde towards God by estranging it from the sence of worldly things and may both shew and beget our humiliation and sorrow by chastening the body for the sinnes of our soules as is apparent in common reason nor is it needlesse in an ordinary course of life to vse such eyther helpes or signes of humiliation deuotion and mortification For our infirmities in all these kindes are many and great and had need of helpe euery day and our sinnes and transgressions happen dayly nay hourely and doe require euery day humiliation and sorrow and hence it followeth that this ordinary course of fasting vpon the common and vsuall occasions of our life are neither needlesse nor fruitlesse Thus in conclusion it appeareth that all religious Fasts be they priuate or publike and whether for ordinary or extraordinary occasions haue allowance from God and are of good vse in the life of a Christian CHAP. III. What holy vse there is of Fasting and how it may further vs for holy duties and workes of GODS seruice THese religious Fasts as they haue good proofe from Gods Word so they haue great vse in the life of a Christian More particularly and especially they may serue for these vses I. They may serue as outward acts to declare our reuerence toward God and his sacred ordinances For as at all times wee should vse reuerence toward God in our hearts which is nothing else but an acknowledging of his excellencie for which hee is to bee hououred so it is very requisite that when wee come into his presence or haue any more then ordinary entercourse with him wee should by some fitting behauiour declare it For which purpose (a) Exod. 3.5 God commanded Moses and the (b) Iosh 5.15 Angell commanded Ioshua Put off thy shooes from off thy feet for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground The meaning of which ceremonie was for this end that thereby they might shewe reuerence in the place where God did manifest his presence And the like vse there may be of fasting also and that in two respects 1. Because we doe by such demeanour humble our selues before the Diuine Maiestie as vnworthy not only to enioy his presence but to make vse of any of his creatures Which is a testimony as of our owne basenesse so of Gods excellencie and greatnesse 2. We may by our abstinence shew reuerence to God because by forbearing our meate when wee are about his workes we declare that we preferre his seruice before the seruing of our owne turnes as deeming it most iust that his seruice should haue the first place in all our thoughts This vse of fasting (c) Hooker Eccles polit l. 5. nu 72. pa. 207. some thinke it is not vnlikely that the Iewes made in fasting on holy dayes till the publike Seruice was ended and that their complaint against Christs Disciples (d) Luke 6.1 2. for rubbing the eares of corne on the Sabbath day doth imply so much For their meaning was say they to finde fault with them meaning was say they to finde fault with them for breaking not the rest but the fast of the Sabbath e Hebraeorum illa fuit à maioribus tradita vsu recipta ac tanquam lege probata consuetudo vt von siceret diebus festis cuiquā ante sextā borā prandere Baron tō 1. ann 34. nu 243. pag. 250. which by their custome was to be obserued till dinner time or after the Diuine Seruice And for this interpretation there may bee giuen this reason that the rubbing of corne for staying of hunger was so small a worke that in reason it cannot be thought to offend any no not a Pharisee it beeing lesse labour then euery man doth vse at his ordinary meale on the Sabbath day For the furnishing of the Table the dishing out of the meate the drawing of drinke and caruing that which is necessary for euery mans vse which no Pharisee would reproue on the Sabbath day will require as much both time labour as that which the Disciples here did bestow But let this goe for a coniecture as I will not vrge it for any point of faith thus much is certaine that the Christian Church hath still bin accustomed to forbeare all foode when they were to receiue the holy Communion till the whole worke and seruice of God were ended whereof (f) Aug. Epist 118. c. 6. pag. 191. B. Saint Augustine and (g) Isidor de Offic. l. 1. ca 8. others after him doe giue vs this reason vt in honorem tanti Sacramenti in os Christiani priùs Dominicum corpus intraret quàm caeteri cibi that for the honour of that great Sacrament our Lords bodie should first be receiued before all other foode And so we may say that it is for reuerence to GOD and for the honour of his Ordinance if wee first performe those holy dueties before wee partake our necessary food And sure it was respect vnto his Master that made Abrahams seruant say (h) Genes 24.33 I will not eate till I haue told mine errand And respect it was to his heauenly Father that made our Sauiour to (i) Ioh. 4.34 refuse his owne meate till he had done his Fathers will and finished his Worke. And so it was respect vnto God that (k) 1 Sam. 16.11 Samuel would not sit downe till Dauid was sent for that hee might anoynt him as God had appoynted For otherwise the seruices which they did doe before meat might for any thing that doth appeare by the text haue bin as conueniently performed after it And so we shall declare our respect to God and reuerence to his holy